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Synaesthetes, including singers Pharrell Williams and Lady Gaga, report an overlap in their senses; they see smells, taste colours or feel sounds.

The neurological condition, which can affect as many as one in 23 people, has long been linked with creativity.

And now scientists believe the condition correlates to an increase in intelligence - and they claim people can even be taught to experience it.

The University of Sussex has devised a nine-week training programme to see if adults without synaesthesia can develop the key hallmarks of the condition. They found, in a sample study of 14, that the participants were able to develop strong letter-colour associations to pass all the standard tests for synaesthesia

Scientists believe some people are born with synaesthesia, while others experience it after a stroke, or while using psychedelic drugs such as LSD.

But researchers are divided over whether it is embedded in our genes, or whether it emerges because of particular environmental influences, such as coloured-letter toys in infancy.

While the two possibilities are not mutually exclusive, the University of Sussex has devised a nine-week training programme to see if adults without synaesthesia can develop the key hallmarks of the condition.

They found, in a sample study of 14, that the participants were able to develop strong letter-colour associations to pass all the standard tests for synaesthesia.

Most experienced sensations such as letters seeming 'coloured' or having individual personas, for instance, 'x is boring', 'w is calm'.

One of the most surprising outcomes of the study was that those who underwent the training also saw their IQ jump by an average of 12 points, compared to a control group that didn't undergo training.

Dr Daniel Bor, who co-led the study with Dr Nicolas Rothen, said: 'The main implication of our study is that radically new ways of experiencing the world can be brought about simply through extensive perceptual training.

'The cognitive boost, although provisional, may eventually lead to clinical cognitive training tools to support mental function in vulnerable groups, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD) children, or adults starting to suffer from dementia.'

Synaesthetes, including singers Pharrell Williams (left) and Lady Gaga (right), report an overlap in their senses; they see smells, taste colours or feel sounds

Dr Bor claimed that young children with the right genetic predisposition might unconsciously use colours as to help them with the task of learning the alphabet. 

'It should be emphasised that we are not claiming to have trained non-synaesthetes to become genuine synaesthetes,' he added.

'When we re-tested our participants three months after training, they had largely lost the experience of 'seeing' colours when thinking about the letters.

'But it does show that synaesthesia is likely to have a major developmental component, starting for many people in childhood.'