1

SAVANT SYNDROME ...The Paradox

of Genius

OUTLINEIntroductionWhat is Savant Syndrome?HistoryEpidemiologyClassification of SavantsCharacteristics of the Savant SyndromeEtiological TheoriesYou and I?Conclusion

SAVA T

SYNDROME

2

INTRODUCTION

“The human brain is the most complex thing yet discovered in our universe.”

- James D. Watson

(Photo credit: slatervecchio.com)

3

WHAT IS THE SAVANT SYNDROME?

Savant syndrome is a rare but spectacular condition in which persons with various neurodevelopmental disabilities have some extraordinary islands of genius which stands in stark contrast to the overall handicap.

(Treffert, 2000; 2006)

The word “savant” is from the French word “savoir”.

4

HISTORY

Savant syndrome was first properly recognised by Dr. J. Langdon Down, (he also originated the term Down’s syndrome).

In 1887, he coined the term "idiot savant"(Down, 1887)

Gnothi Sauton in 1783 gave the first description in a scientific paper.

Benjamin Rush provided one of the earliest reports in 1789.

(Scripture, 1891)

(Gnothi, 1783)

5

EPIDEMIOLOGY

(Saloviita et al., 2000)

1 in 10 persons with autism

1.4 in 2000 people with brain damage

(Treffert, 2006)

It disproportionately affects males, with four to six male savants for every one female.

6

Savant syndrome can be congenital or acquired in previously neurotypical persons after CNS injury or disease.

CLASSIFICATION OF SAVANTS

(Treffert, 2006)

Savants know things they never learned…

7

CONGENITAL SAVANTS

8

9

TOM WIGGINS

An African American slave who was born blind.He was known as “blind tom”.He was autistic. He was a musical savant.

(Treffert, 2000)

( photo credits: Wikimedia commons)

FLO AND KAY LYMANIdentical twinsAutisticCalendar-calculating savants

(Tracey, 2009)

 They never forget a date, never forget a song, never forget what they eat, never forget the weather on any day.

( photo credits: whatsherbox.wordpress.com)

10

KIM PEEK

Known as a “MEGASAVANT”. His brain was capable of remembering almost anything it ever processed.

It has been estimated that he could recall the complete contents of about 12,000 books from memory.

(Treffert et al., 2002)

(The Times, 2009)

(photo credits: lpc1.clpccd.cc.ca.us)

11

(photo credits: www.psychologytoday.com) 12

ACQUIRED SAVANTS

13

ORLANDO SERRELL

Orlando began to exhibit his skills after being hit by a baseball on the left side of the head at the age of ten.

He soon came to realize that he could perform very complicated calendar calculations and he has been able to remember the weather of every single day since the accident. (Treffert,

2006)

(Photo credits: mentalfloss.com)

14

ABOUT SAVANT SKILLS

15

Music

Calendar Calculatin

g

MathematicsArt

Mechanical/ Spatial

Prodigious Memory

(Kehrer, 1992) 16

Note: Savant skills are left hemispheric

Talented skills

Prodigious skills

Splinter skills

(Treffert, 2000; 2006)

Spectrum of Savant

Skills

17

THEORIES

Rote memory.

Left brain injury/right brain compensation.

Waterhouse theory.

Weak central coherence theory.

Hyper-systemizing theory.

(Hermelin, 2001)

(Treffert, 2006)

(Waterhouse et al., 1996)

(Frith et al., 2006)

(Baron-Cohen, 2003)

18

BRAIN LATERALIZATION

& MALE PREVALENCE

(Geschwind & Galaburda1987)

19

Autism or autistic characters which are present in savant syndrome seem to be linked to high levels of testosterone in fetuses during critical pre-natal periods which might lead to left hemisphere injury or at least left brain malfunction.

GENE FOR SAVANT SYNDROME?

Significantly increased evidence for linkage to 15q11-q13

The authors note that Prader-Willi syndrome is due to a deletion on this same region of chromosome 15 (i.e. 15q11-13) and that some features (puzzle skills, for example) of PWS and autism overlap.

(Nurmi et al., 2003)20

You & I?One of the biggest debates going on in the field of savant research today is whether or not it is possible to get the brains of normal people like us to function like those of Kim Peek and Daniel Tammett.

21

CONCLUSION

No model of brain function, including memory, will be complete until it can account for, and fully incorporate, the rare but spectacular condition of savant syndrome.

(Treffert, 2006)

22

REFERENCES

 Baron-Cohen S. (2003). The Essential Difference: Male and Female Brains and the Truth About Autism. New York: Basic Books.Down J.L. (1887). On Some of the Mental Affections of Childhood and Youth. London: Churchill.Frith U. & Happé F. (2006). The Weak Coherence Account: Detail-focused Cognitive Style in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 5-25.Geschwind N., Galaburda A.M. (1987). Cerebral Lateralization: Biological Mechanisms, Associations, and Pathology. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.Gnothi Sauton (1783-1 793). oder Magazin der Erfahrungsseelenkunde als ein Lesebuch fur Gelehrte and Ungelehrte. Mortiz KP, ed. Berlin: Mylius. Hermelin B. (2001). Bright Splinters of the Mind. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

23

REFERENCES CONT’D

Kehrer H.E. (1992). Savant capabilities of autistic persons. ACTA Paedopsychiatrica; 55:151-155. Saloviita T., Ruusila L., Ruusila U. (2000) Incidence of savant skills in Finland. Percept Mot Skills; 91:120-122.Scripture E.W. (1981) Arithmetical prodigies. Am J Psychol. 1891;4:1-59.Tracey Eagan (2009-05-06). "Twin Savants Fixated on Dick Clark". Jezebel. Retrieved 2009-07-19Treffert D. (2000) Extraordinary People: Understanding Savant Syndrome. Omaha, NE: IUniverse.com. (Originally published New York: Harper & Row; 1989.)Treffert D., Wallace G. (2002) Islands of genius. Scientific American; 286:76-85. Treffert D. A. (2006). Extraordinary People: Understanding savant syndrome. New York: Ballantine Books.Waterhouse L., Modahl. C., & Fein D. (1996). Neurofunctional Mechanisms in Autism. Psychological Review, 103(8), 457-489.

24

25