Update - December 22, 2005
More About Blind Tom

Elsewhere on this site there is information about Thomas Wiggins, more often referred to as Blind Tom. A Web site at www.twainquotes.com/archangels.html provides additional background information. But of special interest is that on that site one can listen to several of Blind Tom's original compositions directly. The one song — "Battle of Manassas" — is a Blind Tom 'classic' with very intricate, and effective passages depicting that battle. The other pieces are more soothing, but equally as remarkable.


Update - December 12, 2005
The Observer article on Kim Peek

Robin McKie, science editor at The Observer, has written an interesting article on Kim Peek and Savant Syndrome, inspired by the December 2005 Scientific American feature article.


Update - September 30, 2005

"Some Kind of Genius" — The Tony DeBlois Story Some Kind of Genius — a book about "the extraordinary journey of musical savant Tony DeBlois" — will be released by Rodale Press on October 7. It is written by Janice DeBlois, Tony's mother, and Antonia Felix. The book is the Tony DeBlois story, whose profile appears elsewhere on this site. Tony is a prodigious musical savant, particularly skilled in jazz and improvisation. He graduated with honors from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1996 which is an interesting story in itself. Tony plays 20 instruments and presently has six CD's to his credit. The most recent CD has the same title as the book. A movie — Journey to the Heart — was broadcast as an CBS Movie of the Week in 1997. There is more information about Tony, his CDs and the book at www.tonydeblois.com.

Dr. Treffert first met Tony in 1989 and has followed him since that time. This new book about Tony contains a chapter — "Islands of Genius: The Mystery of Savant Syndrome" — that describes the circumstances of that first meeting, surrounding Tony's admission to Berkley. It also summarizes present-day information about musical savants including where Tony fits into that remarkable phenomenon, particularly the intriguing triad of visual impairment, mental disability and musical genius that re-occurs so rarely, but conspicuously, in savant syndrome through the past 100+ years.

Overall the book demonstrates dramatically what can happen with a focus on a-bility rather than dis-ability on the part of parents, teachers and others. It also provides a roadmap of love, and advocacy, for parents of children with disabilities through Janice DeBlois's example. About the book Dr. Treffert states: "in my search to better understand savant syndrome, it is from persons like Tony and his mom that I've learned as much about matters of the heart as I have about the workings of the mind." This book is about both.


Update - July 13, 2005
Musical Hallucinations: A built-in IPod?

There have been a number of cases in the past where persons with temporal lobe epilepsy, or brain lesions from infection (encephalitis or Lyme disease), stroke or tumor have "musical hallucinations" as a part of those disorders. One report describes a 57-year-old patient with a dorsal pons abscess and summarizes 10 other such cases where music ranged from French chansons, to Mozart to Glenn Miller. Such a phenomenon has also been reported as a form of tinnitus. These circumstances are separate from musical hallucinations that can be present in certain forms of major mental illness in that these 'hallucinations' occur in the absence of such major mental illness. They also are different from the 'song stuck in the head' that most normal persons experience from time to time. These "hallucinations" are intrusive, vivid and unstoppable, and, like a continuing neuropathy (or tinnitus) in some persons, can be quite intractable to treatment.

A 2004 article in the Sunday Telegraph Magazine describes this "I can't get it out my head" phenomenon in some detail and outlines some of the theories and research underway at that time to better explain the phenomenon, and link it to 'normal' processing of music.

A 2005 New York Times article expands on that topic with a "Neuron Network Goes Awry, and Brain Becomes and IPod" headline. That article then describes some of the work that Dr. Victor Aziz, a psychiatrist in Wales, and colleagues have been doing with some 30 cases seen over the past 15 years in South Wales. In one-third of the cases these persons were deaf or hard of hearing and the phenomenon seemed to accompany the hearing loss. The average age of the sample was 78 years old. The article also describes some of the recent PET studies and fMRI studies on these persons to better understand this process, and better understand musical processing in the brain overall.

What does this have to do with savant syndrome? Three things. First, a report in December, 2000 from an article in Neurology, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that two patients who developed fronto-temporal dementia also developed something else that was new: an appreciation for music they previously disliked. (link to related news release) One 68-year-old patient began to listen at full volume to a popular Italian pop band, in preference to his former love of classical music. He had formerly described the pop music as "mere noise." Another 73-year-old patient developed an interest in music "where she had barely tolerated easy-listening tunes before, and began sharing her 11-year-old granddaughter's interest in pop music." This new 'change' in musical tastes is very similar to the development of new musical skills in Miller's FTD patients (acquired savants) reported further down on this page who had demonstrated left anterior temporal lobe dysfunction from the FTD process.

Second, Dr. Geovanni Frisoni, who reported these cases gave one interesting, and pertinent, possible explanation for this phenomenon. He speculated that the change in musical tastes could be linked to a change in one's attitude toward novelty: "To people over age 60, pop music is considered novel. Previous studies have suggested that novelty is managed by the brain's right frontal lobe, and a predominance of the right over the left frontal lobe might lead to novelty seeking. These speculations fit with much of the left brain/right brain specialization described throughout this site with respect to savant syndrome. (link to related news release)

Third, throughout this site also is speculation about musical, math and language 'modules' in the brain, and their role in producing savant syndrome in some persons. The recent New York Times article indicates that the work by Dr. Aziz and colleagues "support recent work by neuroscientists indicating our brains use special networks of neurons to perceive music." After initial processing of signals in the primary auditory cortex, those sounds are then passed as signals "to other regions, which can recognize more complex features of music, like rhythm, key changes and melody." PET studies are now underway to see how brain activity during these 'hallucinations' differs from, or resembles, brain activity during 'normal' musical listening. According to some studies by Dr. Tim Griffiths, a neurologist at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England, the main difference is that musical hallucinations do not activate the primary auditory cortext but rather use "only the parts of the brain that are responsible for turning simple sounds into complex music." On the surface, at least, this resembles some of the early processing, or unconscious processing, Dr. Birbaumer reports in math 'experts', and savants, as described elsewhere on this site. Dr. Diana Deutsch at the University of California, San Diego is planning fMRI studies on persons who are not deaf, yet have musical hallucinations, to supplement these PET studies.


Update - June 23, 2005

Temple Grandin: "Training the Talent" Temple Grandin recently spoke to the Autism Society of Wisconsin at their annual conference in Green Bay. She has become a widely traveled and frequent lecturer to such groups, sharing her own remarkable story of how 'training the talent' in an autistic person allowed her to go on to get her PhD in animal science. Temple is presently an assistant professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University. Her talent and consultation as an animal science expert is sought out worldwide where her special expertise is singular, and highly valued. Temple is known for her several books on autism — her own autism — in which she articulates so clearly what it is like to be autistic. Her first book Emergence Called Autism describes that 'emergence' marvelously. Her 2000 book, Thinking in Pictures, has enjoyed wide popularity and provides insight into autistic thinking and functioning in children and adults. It provides some helpful guidelines for families, teachers and others toward better understanding and living with and working with persons with autistic spectrum disorders. Her 2005 book Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior now enjoys high popularity as well.

In 2004 Temple released a very specialized but practical book on vocational guidance and placement in the work world for persons with autism spectrum disorders: Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. It was written in conjunction with Kate Duffy, a specialist in career planning. As Tony Attwood says in the foreword to that book: "Temple Grandin is a pioneer in terms of her ability to achieve highly successful employment, capitalizing on the very qualities associated with autism spectrum disorders. This book is somewhat like Temple herself: practical, knowledgeable and positive." Developing Talents is great roadmap for persons with Asperger's or autistic disorder for navigating in the work world as well as for family, teachers or employers to help in that important endeavor and placement. It is a very useful "how-to" manual in an area that generally lacks such direct, practical advice.

In her lecture Temple emphasized over and over again the importance of "training the talent," a phrase found frequently on this Web site as well. She provided many useful "for instances" from her own life with which the audience could easily resonate from their own experiences with autistic persons in their families or professional practices. From those "for instances" come many practical ideas for application in the home, clinic or workplace.

There were a number of other useful take-home messages in Temple Grandin's lecture as well that can only be briefly mentioned here. One was that for a field somewhat polarized these days between conventional and alternative therapies, her observations are that both are useful and rather than working at cross-purposes both should work more closely, and respectfully, together. A second message was that Autistic Spectrum Disorder represents a number of different conditions with differing causes. Therefore it is not unexpected that certain therapies work for some persons, and not for others. One size, or approach, clearly does not fit all and a variety of therapies will probably be required over the entire spectrum of these disorders. Finally, medications can be useful in some persons with autistic spectrum disorders directed at certain target symptoms, and often very low doses of these medications, rather than more typical doses, are most effective.

Overall the lecture was a very balanced approach toward better understanding and treating persons with autistic spectrum disorders. The lecture was enthusiastically and appreciatively received by the audience. "Training the talent" as a successful intervention strategy was not only described by Temple Grandin, but it is convincingly demonstrated in her own successful "emergence."

Update - May 5, 2005
Kodi Lee and KBS

On April 21, 2005, Kodi Lee and his parents visited the Windhover Center in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to meet Dr. Treffert for filming a portion of a documentary on Kodi by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). The program will be shown in Korea in Fall 2005. The family resides in the Los Angeles, California area.

Kodi Lee is nine years old, and a remarkable musical savant. His Web site gives some background on Kodi, and also has multi-media sections illustrating his musical skills. Kodi has optic nerve hypoplasia as the source of his visual impairment, and at age 4 was given a diagnosis of autistic disorder as well. From infancy on, Kodi has been fascinated with rhythm and that fascination permeates his music today as he often taps his feet in rhythm with the music — like a tap dancer — as he plays and sings. His repertoire is extensive and includes classical and contemporary music and styles. Kodi began his public appearances only a year or so ago, and enjoys the audience receptivity and interaction. As with other savants, his musical skills have helped to improve his socialization and language skills. Kodi recently released his own CD which is now available through his Web site.

Update

Perfect Pitch, Music Therapy and the Savant Perfect pitch, or absolute pitch, is the ability to name a note played on a piano or other instrument, or many other sound sources, and instantly name it as F-sharp, or B-flat, for example. While quite rare in the general population, among persons with special needs (and especially among musical savants) it is a very common characteristic and is almost universally present in prodigious musical savants. Beyond its research significance in that regard, perfect pitch has many practical and important implications for dealing with, and teaching, savants with that unusual ability. Susan Rancer, a registered music therapist, has written a very useful and practical guide for music teachers, music therapists and parents when dealing with this special population.

Ms. Rancer's music therapy practice consists almost entirely of persons with special needs, many of them with autism, and many with perfect pitch. Teaching approaches to persons with perfect pitch require unique considerations and techniques, and this very practical booklet describes those in detail.

The booklet is titled Perfect Pitch & Relative Pitch / How to identify and test for the phenomena: A guide for music teachers, music therapists and parents. It is available from Ms. Rancer through her Web site at www.susanrancer.com. Her site gives further practical advice for teachers, therapists and parents based on her many years of experience with special needs students, provides some case examples, and furnishes links to other sources of such information.

There is more information about perfect pitch, and useful teaching approaches, in a separate posting in the articles section of this Web site and on the Savant Academy Web site at www.savantacademy.org.


Update
A Savant Documentary from Taiwan

More savants continue to come to attention from around the world through World Wide Web connections. Three savants are described in a new documentary from the National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan. One is a musician, also visually impaired, with musical skills "close to professional standard" on piano with additional violin, flute and drum skills as well. A second has calendar calculating ability, exceptional memory and a 'peculiar interest in the sounds of passing trains, and is able to tell each train's number of cars just listening.' A third is a woman who was left blind, mute and paralyzed by carbon monoxide poisoning but "later taught her will by swaying her head ... learned Morse code and a similar code in Chinese to communicate with the outside world." Using this system of communication she has created more than 200 poems, some of which have been published.

The documentary was financed by the National Science Council in Taiwan. The project is described in summary fashion at this link.

It is interesting, but not unexpected, that new cases, no matter which area of the world they come from, continue to fall within the same general repertoire of skills such as music, art, or calendar calculating, always combined with exceptional memory. Likewise the triad of musical genius, developmental disability and visual impairment continues to be reported in new cases coming to attention such as the one case in this documentary.


Update
Brainman—An Explanation and a Documentary

Further down in this What's New section there is information about Daniel Tammet and his setting a European record for the computation of Pi (some 22,500 digits). Daniel's remarkable mathematical skills and visual imagery abilities occurred after an episode of childhood epilepsy. What is especially interesting about Daniel is his ability to describe how he carries out his extraordinary skills in his mind, which provides a rare and exceptional insight into savant abilities. He also speaks seven languages and is now devising his own language.

There was an excellent article about Daniel in Guardian Unlimited on February 12, 2005. Also, a London production company has done a documentary on Daniel titled Brainman. It was broadcast on February 24 and February 25, 2005 on the Discovery Science Channels.

Daniel was a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, which aired on April 27, 2005.


Update
George Widener, a Multiply Gifted Savant

George Widener is a multiply gifted savant, with skills in the domains of calendar calculating, art and memory. Born in 1962, he was eventually correctly identified as having Asperger's syndrome in his thirties, as is sometimes the case with higher-functioning persons.

George maintains his own Web site at www.savantartist.com.

Progress has been made in George's life by emphasizing his strengths rather than trying to 'correct' his weaknesses. All of his life George has made various drawings and has had numbers in his head so this is what he focuses on today. He is a lighting calculator with a seemingly unlimited range. He uses this skill to tell people how many days, minutes and sometimes seconds old they will be on their next birthday. He also has instant recall of thousands of historical facts and U. S. Census figures.

George's talented draughtmanship provided a wide range of technical abilities advancing from literal memory works to original, expressive creations as can be seen on his Web site. His Web site details his unique ability to blend calendar dates with magic squares, creating what he calls a "Magic Time" square, and what he calls magic calendar portraits of some famous persons combining that persons life facts and dates. The background of this original talent and art are more fully explained, and illustrated, on his Web site.


Additional Information on Ping Lian — "A Stroke of Genius"

One of the objectives of this savant Web site is to learn about persons with savant syndrome in other parts of the world, including all of Asia, through use of the World Wide Web. One such person — Ping Lian of Malaysia — came to our attention in just that way and his story has been posted in the profiles section.

Two recent newspaper articles about him and savant syndrome were recently published in his country and can be accessed at:

http://metro.thestar.com.my/news/2005/2/10062445.html
http://metro.thestar.com.my/news/2005/2/10062425.html

Those articles provide more background about Ping Lian, his remarkable art, and his also remarkable family.


Matt Savage Update

Matt Savage continues to astound audiences here and abroad. He performed for the Annual Meeting of the Million Dollar Round Table and there is a one-song video clip on Matt's Web site at www.savagerecords.com. There are also many photos from that performance posted on Matt's site.

In May, Matt's first commissioned full jazz band piece, "Shaker Swing," will be performed in Shaker Heights, Ohio. It was written for a 19-piece jazz band, although, according to his mother "Matt added a 20th instrument (a zither part) as a joke. Don't worry though, he didn't put the zither part in the real conductor's score."

Matt has upcoming concerts in Florida, Curacao, Massachusetts, Kansas City and Birdland in New York City.

By the way, Matt is now 12 years old.

Ping Lian Yeak: An Amazing 11 Year Old Artist I was delighted to learn about Ping Lian through the worldwide savant syndrome Web site which brought his remarkable work, and his dedicated family, to my attention. Ping Lian's artwork stands on its own demonstrating a remarkable artistic ability in an 11-year-old boy. His drawings are colorful, cheerful and impressive. Those drawings take on an added significance, however, when one sees that such a-bility co-exists with a dis-ability as described by his mother and teachers. Savant Syndrome is a rare condition in which remarkable skills and abilities — islands of genius — are seen in striking contrast to limitations from a variety of circumstances such as autism or other developmental disabilities. Such artistic prowess as Ping Lian demonstrates, in addition to providing us with beautiful art, serves as a source of satisfaction, development and growth for him, helping eventually to minimize whatever limitations might spring from his disabilities. Standing behind and beside each of the savants I have worked with as well, however, is a dedicated, patient, loving, determined and perpetually optimistic family which appreciates the special gift within their child, and wish to share it more widely with world. Thus we all become, then, the beneficiaries of that special giftedness, and that determination and optimism, while the artist himself continues to grow and flourish.

Ping Lean's Web site, which tells more of his background and provides a gallery of his work, can be accessed at http://www.pinglian.com.


More evidence of right hemisphere preference/compensation in autistic persons

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and California State University report in the February issue of Neuroimaging that when given working memory tasks, fMRI imaging studies show that although there was comparable performance between normal controls and high functioning autistic individuals, the control group showed more activation in the left than the right parietal regions, and tended to use verbal codes to perform the task, while high-functioning autistic persons showed more right lateralized activation in the prefrontal and parietal regions. It was felt by the researchers that the results suggested that the autistic individuals tended to use visual codes rather than verbal codes. The lead researcher on the project was H. Koshino with the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon.

Other studies have shown a right hemisphere preference/activity in autistic persons compared to control subject on imaging studies. This adds to the body of evidence for left hemisphere dysfunction in autistic persons. Approximately one in ten persons with autistic disorder have savant abilities at some level compared to other developmental or other CNS disorders, and, as pointed out in other studies and findings, savant syndrome tends to be associated with this same left hemisphere dysfunction/right hemisphere preference/compensation in many instances.

Full article reference: Koshino, H, Carpenter, PA, Minshew NJ et al "Functional connectivity in an MRI Memory Task in High-Functioning Autism. Neuroimage. 2005 Feb 1;24(3): 810-21 Epub 2004 Nov 24.


TMS, Neurological Disorders and Savant Syndrome

Transmagnetic Cranial Stimulation (TMS), sometimes referred to as rTMS, is an accepted research and treatment tool in certain CNS disorders. TMS (referred to in several other postings on this Web site) has been used by some researchers to temporarily disable portions of the left hemisphere in normal volunteer subjects to see if savant-like abilities surface, presumably from still intact right hemisphere activity. Such studies are underway in Australia.

A team at the University of London has been exploring an adapted version of TMS as a possible treatment for Parkinson's disease or stroke patients "to help speed their recovery" by stimulating the damaged areas. In a news item describing this effort there is an interesting observation on the part of the research team that interfaces with some of the speculation about rTMS and its possible role in better understanding savant syndrome. Instead of stimulating the damaged area, the authors state "Alternatively, it may be that, in some patients, the 'healthy' side of the brain interferes with recovery by the damaged side, so that another approach would be to reduce its activity and stop it from competing for control." This is stating somewhat differently what some other researchers call the "tyranny of the left hemisphere" in trying to better understand cerebral dominance and its role in the production of savant syndrome.

While no over-arching theory can explain all cases of savant syndrome, increasingly evidence supports left hemisphere dysfunction with right brain compensation as an important dynamic in many cases. But it may be that rather than right brain 'compensation' as we usually think of that process, the 'compensation' is in part rather a lessening of left hemisphere dominance typically operative in all of us. If that is the case, then right brain skills, characteristically those in savant syndrome, might be expected to surface more rapidly than a longer compensatory process might require.

In any case, it is interesting to see this observation rising from studies and observations entirely independent from savant syndrome research, yet be consistent with some speculation about the savant syndrome process and causation.


The Incidence and Prevalence of Autism

Debate continues as to whether the reported increase in the incidence (and prevalence) of autism is due to an actual increase in the number of cases, or is instead manifestation of increased awareness, changes in diagnostic criteria and the availability of services leading to identification of previously unrecognized autistic disorder cases. A study from the Mayo Clinic published in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine addresses that question.

Dr. William Barbaresi, a Mayo Clinic Developmental Pediatrician and his co-workers set out to determine the incidence of autism among children in Olmstead County, Minnesota. That county, through the Rochester Epidemiology Project, has all inpatient and outpatient diagnoses indexed for computer retrieval. In 1980-83 the incidence of research-based DSM-IV diagnoses of autistic disorder was 5.5 per 100,000 children. By 1995-97 the incidence using those same strict criteria was 44.9 per 100,000, a four-fold increase. While such an increase did occur, the authors note that was after the "introduction of broader, more precise diagnostic criteria, increased availability of services, and increased awareness of autism." They conclude "Although it is possible that unidentified environmental factors have contributed to an increase in autism, the timing of the increase suggests that it may be due to improved awareness, changes in diagnostic criteria and availability of services, leading to identification of previously unrecognized young children with autism.

This study focused on incidence—rate of new cases over a period of time. Generally however studies report prevalence—rate of all cases in a specific population at any one time. In this study the prevalence of autistic disorder would be 29.0 cases per 10,000 children based on 1997 data. Other Minnesota studies showed an increase in prevalence from 3 per 10,000 in 1991-92 to 52 per 10,000 in 1991-92, however this figure was based on children receiving special education services without ascertaining the prevalence of autistic disorder among all children in the state.

Whether incidence or prevalence, however, both appeared to have escalated between 1976 and 1997. This particular study focused primarily on incidence. The Journal reference for the full article is Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005 Jan; 159(1):37-44.

The research is described as well in a Medical News Today article. That article quotes Dr. Barbaresi noting that "this study is the first to measure the incidence — the occurrence of new cases — by applying consistent, contemporary criteria for autism to a specific population over a long period of time." A contributing factor to the increased incidence was more precise diagnosis introduced in 1987. Prior to that time, according to the Medical News Report, "children with autism may have been given less precise diagnoses such as 'developmental delay' or 'mental retardation' and children with milder forms of autism may not have been identified at all."


Dr. Down and the Dawn of Developmental Disorders

Dr. J. Langdon Down, best known for having described Down's Syndrome, also gave the first major description of savant syndrome in 1887 when he gave a lecture to the London Medical Society documenting ten cases of persons with mental "dis-abilities" who had striking "a-bilities" which stood in such stark and jarring contrast. Dr. Down's ten cases of musical, artistic, and numbers ability, coupled with phenomenal memory, have been mirrored repeatedly in the 117 years since that early, astute and accurate description.

But buried in that lecture as well are some other astute and before-its-time observations regarding instances of what we would now probably call autistic disorder, both early-onset and late-onset type. While Dr. Down did not call these special cases "autistic disorder," he did apply the term 'developmental' to them, and even made commentary regarding head shape and developmental disorders, a finding being explored now a century later.

In this early description of cases "impossible to include" in the usual forms of mental retardation Down uses terms such as "living in a world of their own"; "referring to himself in the third person"; "lessened responsiveness"; "lost speech"; "self-contained and self-absorbed caring not to be entertained other than his own dream-land and automatic and rhythmical movements." Those descriptions are so applicable to what we now call Autistic Disorder.

With all the emphasis on the 'explosion' in autism cases, whether apparent or real, these days it is useful to revisit Dr. Down's writings a century later to realize autism is not a new disorder, and the late on-set form of autistic disorder existed even in his day 100 years before present controversies as to what might be responsible for this late onset phenomenon.

Dr. Down's remarkable observations are recounted, and summarized, in the articles section of this Web site.


From Imaging to Imagery

In recent years there has been a fascination with neuroimaging, especially functional imaging (fMRI, PET, SPECT) where one can witness the brain at work, rather than just outline brain architecture. As spectacular as the images are that come from such new techniques, the real challenge is in transferring knowledge to practical application in treatment and recovery from CNS catastrophes. As such, interest is shifting from improving brain images to the possibility of harnessing brain imagery to either directly influence some special, helping devices, or to assist in brain rewiring and developing new brain circuitry to reroute around damaged pathways.

In the past "thought control" was generally applied to the possibility of using some sort of technology to influence internal thoughts from outside. That's a rather frightening prospect and many novels and movies have been made about that problematic scenario. But "thought control" in the other direction — using thoughts in the brain to control some outside technology — is a much more pleasant and promising prospect. Two efforts in Wisconsin address the latter.

In a headline "Think, shoot, score!" a December 5, 2004 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes the work of a researcher at the UW Functional Neurosurgery Department. Two patients, using electrodes implanted prior to neurosurgery, were able "to control a computer cursor and play basic video games just by thinking about it." In these cases, wires from electrodes were plugged into a computer and the patients took several weeks "to master their ability to control the cursor with their thoughts. By thoughts alone, one patient quickly learned a modified version of Pong and he was able to play it just as well as having a joystick in his hand." Both patients had electrodes implanted temporarily prior to neurosurgery for several conditions. Obviously, the objective of this research would be to develop a less obtrusive method of capturing "thoughts," such as a cap covered with very sensitive EEG electrodes. The practical application would be to bypass the spinal column by harnessing electrical impulses to restore movement to disabled limbs in certain types of paralysis. All of this applied, non-intrusive technology is some years away, but procedures that allow a quadriplegic person, for example, to be more fully functional just by "thinking about it" have already been successfully carried out with electrode implantation. Everyone has a fantasy about switching the TV channel, or turning off the light switch by someday just thinking about it. Who knows?

An article in the Journal Sentinel on December 8, 2004 titled "Device may be new pathway to the brain" describes a quite different approach to modifying brain function in certain disorders. In this instance, a device helps people with severe balance problems by routing impulses triggered by electrodes attached to the tongue to the area of the brain associated with vision. Technically the device, also from UW-Madison and named BrainPort, is a "proprietary electrotactile human-machine interface platform." For reasons not understood, after using the device for a short time, persons who are disabled by severe balance problems, can navigate quite normally for 5-6 hours. BrainPort uses a plastic device with 144 electrodes on the tongue, connected to a rigged helmet that measures head movement tilting right, left, forward or backward. The patient senses his balance through a series of 'buzzes' on the tongue. While the device does not cure the balance problem, it produces considerable improvement. This same technology is being explored in other studies to help visually impaired persons "view" elements of the world otherwise not available to them. Mitch Tyler, a biomedical engineer at the University of Wisconsin said it this way: "The brain is flexible and adaptable. We are adding an additional pathway to allow it to function and explore its environment."

While these studies are not directly related to savant syndrome in any manner, they do point up the plasticity, and compensatory possibilities, of the central nervous system, which is an important issue in savant syndrome, particularly in the case of the acquired savant. They also point out that the search for practical, less-intrusive procedures to assist recovery and rehabilitation in a variety of CNS disorders using newer imagery technology is underway.


Left-Brain/Right-Brain Differences in Autism

Why is savant syndrome seen so much more frequently in autistic disorder than in other Developmental Disabilities or other CNS disorders? Part of the answer to that question may lie in the fact that recent research findings continue to document that autistic disorder and savant syndrome both share left hemisphere dysfunction, and right hemisphere preference. A recent study adds more evidence, in support of prior studies, documenting left hemisphere dysfunction and right hemisphere compensation, or preference, in autistic disorder.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging and the University of Pittsburgh found that, compared to control subjects, the individuals with autism, when presented with certain alphabet letter tasks, showed more activation in the right hemisphere of the brain than the left. Reports on that research point out that "the left hemisphere is usually associated with processing verbal information and the right hemisphere is associated with visual and spatial information processing. Since letters can be interpreted as verbal codes (letter names) or visual codes (letter shapes), the different uses of two hemispheres seem to correspond to a difference in strategies: The autism group likely remembered letters by their shape, while the control group remembered letter names." (click here for more)

In short, persons with autism in this study showed right hemisphere preference, and presumably left hemisphere dysfunction, for certain tasks compared to control subjects. Savant skills are also predominantly right brain abilities, including visual and spatial information, with generally impaired verbal (left hemisphere) function. Since both autistic disorder and savant syndrome share the same right hemisphere preference, it would not be an unexpected finding that savant syndrome is more common in autistic disorders than other CNS or Developmental Disability Disorders. While no single over-arching theory can explain all savants, increasingly left hemisphere dysfunction with compensatory right hemisphere preference appears to be frequently implicated as a causative mechanism as pointed out in a number of other postings on this site.


Different for decades — Adults with Asperger Syndrome strive to fit in

November 14, 2004 article by Kathleen O'Brien of the Star Ledger on NJ.com. Click here to open it in a new window.


Losing the Training Wheels: Adapted Bikes as a Therapy Tool

There is a new very informative and useful Web site on using specially tailored bicycles to teach persons with disabilities how to become successful bike riders, and, in so doing, to be able to join other youngsters in this very popular and normal part of growing up. The newly established Web site at www.losethetrainingwheels.org presents useful information for parents and professionals on the availability of existing camps for adapted bike training, and how to establish such camps where none exist now.

While bike riding is a rite of passage and an accepted societal norm for adolescents, a number of children with cognitive as well as physical disabilities aren't able to master bike riding other than by continued use of awkward training wheels and possibly other trike and four-wheeler adaptations. Richard Klein, a retired University of Illinois mechanical engineering professor, has devised a systematic program providing the opportunity for children with a wide array of disabilities to master conventional two-wheeler bike riding.

Klein uses special adapted bikes which are slow in forward speed and slow in falling to enable children to become comfortable and to learn the nuances of bike riding. As children develop and encode proper steering responses, the bikes can be refitted to be more like conventional bikes. He replaces conventional tires with wide, but crowned rollers. Unlike bikes fitted with training wheels, the roller equipped trainers will tip gently in response to rider manipulations. The therapy is delivered in a camp or clinic format, thus working with a group of youngsters typically lasts normally one week.

Large numbers of children (typically about 80 percent who participate in the program), are able to master bike riding and are thus able to shed those humiliating training wheels and cumbersome adapted trikes. The therapy is effective for children with a wide range of disabilities such as autism, Asperger's syndrome, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, fetal drug syndrome, Prader Willi syndrome, obesity, and visual disorders. These children learn to ride bikes, typically, within a few days of therapy. There are numerous benefits such as increased self-esteem, improved stamina, and peer inclusion. An article in the Utica, NY Observer-Dispatch of October 14, 2003 provides an overview; see www.uticaod.com/archive/2003/10/14/news/17451.html. The October 2002 issue of Exceptional Parent Magazine, pp. 64-66, also provides an overview.

Klein has conducted camps in a number of states including California, Delaware, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Camps or clinics are usually held in conjunction with area civic institutions or charitable organizations that provide facilities as well as volunteer instructors. Klein is presently based in the St. Louis area, although he travels extensively for the bike therapy program. Additional information about the adapted bike program can be obtained by contacting Richard Klein at r-klein@uiuc.edu.

Leslie Lemke: A Evening Concert 2003 Leslie Lemke gave an evening concert at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center on as part of the Appleton, Wisconsin Celebrating Abilities week in October, 2003. Through the generosity of the Celebrating Abilities committee, there are a limited number of VHS video tapes available from the concert. The video — An Evening With Leslie Lemke — contains some introductory comments by Dr. Treffert and a nearly two hour performance that contains some of Leslie's favorites, a rarely seen segment with Leslie playing the melodica, and a segment responding to audience challenges and requests. Mary Parker, May Lemke's daughter with whom Leslie now lives, joins Leslie in several pieces. Tapes can be purchased by sending two checks — one for $ 18.00 made out to Miracle of Love Ministries, (which will be forwarded to Mary and Leslie) and the other for $ 5.00 made out to Dr. Treffert for mailing costs. Orders and checks should be sent to:

Darold A. Treffert, MD
W4065 Maplewood Lane
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935


"Eureka!" and "Aha!": A right brain phenomenon

Three cognitive neuroscientists from Northwestern University, and Drexel University, recently reported that areas of brain activity involved with the emergence of sudden insight—the "Aha!" or "Eureka" experience—differ from those areas involved in more traditional or straightforward problem solving. In those instances where insight or problem solutions that have been elusive suddenly appear and become obvious-sometimes even during sleep for example-there is increased brain activity in the right temporal areas, as measured by functional MRI or EEG tracings, compared to left hemisphere activity.

Student participants were given word problems to solve. In addition to solving the problem, each person reported whether the solution, when it came to them, felt like a sudden insight as opposed to a more typical more slowly emerging solution. According to the researchers, the problems were designed to evoke a distinct "Aha" moment about half the time they were solved. Functional MRI techniques showed increased activity occurred in the right anterior superior temporal gyrus during insight solutions, and no such increased activity was noted during non-insight problem solving. In addition, EEG tracings were used to record activity during insight, and non-insight solutions.

About 1/3 of a second before those solutions characterized by more sudden insight, there was a sudden burst of high frequency activity associated with the more sudden process; there was no such increase in activity in non-insight solution processes. This increased EEG activity was in the same right anterior temporal area, compared to left sided areas, as was the case with functional MRI techniques.

A Northwestern News story on the internet summarizes the study and indicates that these findings demonstrate "what is really going on in the brain when the light bulb goes on". That story can be accessed here. The paper itself appeared on-line in the April, 2004 edition of Biology, and open-access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science.

What does this have to do with savant syndrome? The "Aha" problem solving phemomenon seems to occur at an unconscious, or pre-conscious level, and is associated with right brain, as opposed to left brain, CNS activity. Birbaumer, in work described elsewhere on this site, found evidence of such unconscious, or pre-conscious 'calculating' in 'expert' (but non-savant) math whizzes compared to non-expert math students. He named such activity Event Related Potentials (ERP') and was able to measure such activity in the expert as he did his calculations, compared to non-experts doing their calculations in the traditional manner. This unconscious, or pre-conscious processing is very reminiscent of savant syndrome lightning calculators or calendar calculators who are able to perform complex math and number tasks but have no awareness of how they do it, nor can they explain how they do it. George, for example simply says "I got a good mind. That's how I do it".

At the same time, Pesenti and his colleagues, (whose work is also described in more detail on this site) in studying a calculating prodigy (non-savant "expert") documented what appears to be right brain activity in right-sided prefrontal and medial temporal regions when this 'expert' calculator was doing his unconscious or preconscious problem solving compared to non-expert, non-prodigy calculators using more traditional methods for problem solving. This right sided activity correlates nicely with right sided CNS activity described with the "Aha" phenomenon.

These right-sided CNS findings in non-savant expert calculators using pre-conscious or unconscious reasoning, (like savants use) and the same right sided findings related to the "Aha" experience of unconscious problem solving (such as savants do) would seem to provide further evidence in support of the left brain damage/right brain compensation theory of savant syndrome etiology which is noted often in other postings on this site.

These finding would lend some credence as well to the observation that sometimes intuitive thinking, or visionary thinking, or intuition itself can constitute a savant skill, and that such a skill tends to be right hemisphere in origin, just as so many of the other savant skills such as music, art and mathematics. While no over-arching theory can explain all savants, increasingly data from studies such as this tend to support the left hemisphere damage/right hemisphere compensation phenomenon as the basic neuropathology and neuropathophysiology of savant syndrome in many, if not most, savants, and heightens interest toward better understanding savant syndrome and its relationship to prodigy, genius and day to day thought processing and problem solving within us all.


Matt Savage — A marvelous Celebrating A-bilities week

Each year the Appleton, Wisconsin community devotes an entire week to various activities highlighting A-bilities in persons with disabilities. This year the guest of honor and artist in residence was Matt Savage. He and his mother Diane spent 4 days in Appleton visiting various schools, culminating with Matt Savage in Concert at the Performing Arts Center on September 23, 2004.

It was quite a week. Matt and his mother met with elementary and high school students in two separate appearances at those schools. I had a chance to meet with some of the high school students, to talk about savant syndrome and special abilities in persons such as Matt, in the afternoon right after Matt had met with them in the morning. What enthusiasm and inspiration Matt had provided! The energized students were amazed at his abilities, and captured by his personality and ease with the audience. They particularly enjoyed the 'audience challenge' portion of the presentation where Matt would instantly improvise a piano piece to any word or subject they might suggest like a color, or an animal, or a feeling, for example.

Matt carried out that same 'audience participation' in the evening concert as well capturing instantly, musically, the meaning, tone and concept of whatever word was suggested. He served, magically almost, as his own M.C. at the concert, entirely at ease, comical at times, but eminently serious with his music. He played some pieces from his just released 6th CD — Cutting Loose — which was recorded with his Bass player and Drummer as the Matt Savage Trio. But on this night Matt played solo. He played a piece he composed for his sister's birthday, and one dedicated to his Grandpa. How he can get such mighty tones with his tiny hands is a mystery. Matt needs to literally stretch, or bend, or move on the piano bench to reach both ends of the concert grand, so much bigger than he. But he does. Impressive.

I had a chance to have lunch with Matt and his mother. He is as relaxed and engaging over lunch as he is on stage. I learned about some of his other abilities as well. He recognized Treffert as a palindrome, and proceeded to list a number of other palindromes and also told me about resources on palindromes where I could find, if I wished, the longest palindrome in the world. When told my birth date he paused for bit, silently calculating in his head, which day of the week that was — and of course he was right. It was a Sunday. I didn't realize Matt was a world authority on roller coasters and could easily identify the longest, the highest, the fastest, the whatever. He seems to prefer to study them rather than ride them, however, but he has ridden several. Matt is very bright, articulate, well rounded and engagingly pleasant. His mom, who home schools both Matt and his 9 year old sister, is justifiably proud of Matt as well she should be. She has obviously done a great job as a Mom, and as a teacher. Matt and Diane both cherish their rural lifestyle in New Hampshire. We traded orchard and gardening notes, stories, hints, tips and pearls. We are both on a learning curve in that area of endeavor, but making some fulfilling progress. Nothing like fresh fruit and vegetables right out of the garden or orchard. Matt loves fruits and vegetables.

Through the years I have had the privilege of meeting a number of persons with savant abilities, including some prodigious savants which is still a relatively rare circumstance overall. But every now and then there explodes on the scene a new 'rocket of talent' that showers us with the light of a uniquely spectacular ability in an already extraordinary condition. Matt Savage is such a rocket of talent, showering us with its light and we are its beneficiaries.

There are a number of questions about savant syndrome that continue to intrigue me even after 40 years of study. Matt answers some of those questions.

1. Can savants be creative? Matt answers that question resoundingly. Indeed they can be. All you need to do is listen to his compositions and improvisations. On his most recent CD-his 6th-all the songs are his own creation.
2. Can savant abilities help foster better socialization and other skills and actually help minimize other disability symptoms? Matt answers that question also with a resounding "Yes". Such special abililties are a valuable tool in what I call a 'conduit toward normalization'. It is amazing how far Matt has come from those early childhood days as captured on the 20/20 program about him some years ago. As a child he was repelled by loud sounds and music itself. What an incredible difference now in development overall. He is an extraordinarily gifted 12-year-old musician, and music has been such a vital contributor and component of his overall progress, growth and development.
3. As the savant skills help in overall growth and development, and as that growth and development take place, do the special skills and gifts disappear? Here the answer, as Matt so convincingly demonstrates, is a resounding and reassuring "No". Contrary to some early reports of other children with savant skills, with Matt there has been no dreaded trade-off or loss of special abilities for overall growth and development including language and socialization skills. Quite to the contrary, the special abilities continue to flourish and become an important part of who that person is, in addition to whatever special skill or ability he or she happens to have.
4. How important are the family, teachers and others in discovering, nourishing and propelling such special skills and abilities along? Matt, and his Mom and Dad, provide a convincing answer to that question as well. Family, and others as well, are vital in discovering, and providing nurture to the marvelous hidden talents and abilities that nature has provided. The unconditional love, belief, support, pride, cheerleading, tolerance, and untiring patience that the family particularly can provide are vital ingredients in the emergence of these special abilities, and such families provide a brilliant and inspirational example to all of us about the hope, optimism, belief, faith, tolerance, patience and good old fashioned hard work required bring a miracle about. Certainly what Matt can do with his special skills is important to Matt's Mom and Dad, but more important than that is who Matt is as a person. Examples such as Matt's family provide a guiding light for all of us that in caring for persons with disabilities, we need to care about them as well.

The visit that Matt Savage and his mother Diane provided to the Appleton community was a perfect fit and centerpiece for the Celebrating A-bilities week. Hopefully other communities will consider holding such special events as well. Matt's story, his spectacular ability, the loving care from his family who care about him so much, and the evidence of what a powerful and shaping force that can be, is indeed reason to celebrate. And it is a good example to emulate.

Matt and Diane's visit is one that the Appleton community will long remember.

And so will I.

— Darold A. Treffert, MD


The Neuropsychology of Talent, Intelligence and Creativity in Prodigies and Savants

Dr. M. Layne Kalbfleisch of George Mason University and Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. explores in detail the "Functional Neural Anatomy of Talent" in a recently published article in Anatomical Record (Part B: New Anat.)277B:21-36, 2004. This article examines neurobiological definitions, and recent neuropsychology findings, regarding intelligence, talent, creativity, prodigy, giftedness, savant skills and brain "plasticity", and the inter-relationships, neurobiologically speaking, between those items central to better understanding savant syndrome overall. The article focuses especially on 'talent' which is defined as "the possession and development of a skill, and the expression, of a natural aptitude in one or more domains" such as music, mathematics or athletics. How that domain-specific element relates to domain-general measured intelligence is discussed throughout the paper, including the exceptional condition of savant syndrome. The paper summarizes quite comprehensively recent advances in the neuropsychology of exceptional talent, and points out "with growing technological and methodological advances in the neurosciences, various fields working interdependently are poised to answer some of natures most complex and compelling questions regarding human cognition and its remarkable consequences." It is a good contemporary summary of the relationship between talent, intelligence and creativity in prodigies and savants.


Palaeolithic Art And Autistic Savant Syndrome

In a presentation to the Autism Europe 7th International Congress in Lisbon, Spain in November, 2003 Paul Trehin summarizes thought and research which compares very early (upper Palaelithic period), realistic art forms to that of present day gifted autistic children and adults. A number of persons have been struck by the similarity of some prehistoric cave art and that of gifted autistic artists, particularly Nadia. Trehin explores that whole topic in depth in two papers, < ahref="http://perso.wanadoo.fr/gilles.trehin.urville/palaeo_art_autistic_savant_syndr.htm" target="_blank">one specifically examining palaeolithic art and autistic savant syndrome and the other examining the possible role of savant syndrome in the mankind's historic, and pre-historic evolution. The latter paper is titled "Radical or progressive evolution? The case of "savant syndrome". Both papers make interesting reading surrounding these topics, and the fascinating speculation and implications involved.

Mr. Trehin was author of the text surrounding his son's special ability and remarkable project of the city of Urville described elsewhere in the profiles section of this site. He is Autism Europe Vice President. His paper can be accessed in French, with images, by clicking here. The e-mail address for Mr. Trehin is Trehinp@aol.com.


Infant Blindness and Musical Ability

The triad of blindness, mental handicap and musical genius is one which appears with conspicuous regularity in the savant literature over this past century, so much so that a separate posting — Musical Genius, Blindness and Mental Handicap — exists on this site along with a posting about Soundscape, a special school in London for such individuals. Comes now a Canadian study which confirms that musical/blindness link in a number of persons, and points as well to the "brain plasticity' involved in the first two years of life particularly for these individuals as a compensatory process within the brain itself. Both those observations, and confirmatory findings, are important in understanding musical savants overall. An article on the Canadian study can be found here.


A Change of Mind: Creativity Unlocked by Stroke

The magazine Nature and the BBC News both report on the interesting case of Tommy McHugh, a 54-year-old London man whose obsessive drawing, sculpting and poetry writing skills surprisingly, and unexpectedly, emerged following a subarachnoid cerebral hemorrhage in 2001 from two bleeding aneurysms.

According to these reports, Mr. McHugh had no particular prior interest in art, but now spends almost all of his time compulsively creating. Psychological testing apparently shows a "mix of abilities and disabilities", and further imaging and neuropsychological studies are underway at the University College London. Precise MRI studies are hampered by the presence of the two metal clips and coils which were used to repair the aneurysms.

A press release from the Institute of Child Health gives detailed background on Mr. McHugh before and after the stroke. About 6 months after surgery he began writing massive amounts of poetry with vast "creative urges." Soon thereafter he began pencil and felt tip drawings followed by pastel drawings. And then came some sculptures. He describes his art as "exploding" within him, and, at the same time, providing "life-saving therapy."

This instance of new-found artistic ability is reminiscent of Dr. Bruce Miller's fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) patients whose artistic or other creative abilities — not present pre-illness — emerged, sometimes at a prodigious level, as the dementia proceeded. It also provides, of course, more information for further examination of the biology of the creative process, and more evidence as well for so-called 'acquired' artistic skills following CNS incident or disease discussed on this site.

All of this fuels as well the search for the hidden potential, perhaps, that lies within us all discussed at length elsewhere on this site as well.

The "Gifted Hands" of Alonzo Clemons Alonzo Clemons has a newly created Web site. It is a collabortive effort between Gifted Hands, Inc., VSA Arts of Colorado and artsales.com. Gifted Hands, Inc. is now the official representative, and contact point, for information about Alonzo and his works. Alonzo continues to live and work in Boulder, Colorado where he his a vital part of that community. He continues his part-time employment at the Y.M.C.A. and has shared his weight-lifting skills in the Special Olympics competition. His incredible sculpting ability continues and flourishes. His hope is to do some more life-size figures like the Three Frolicking Foals that is so lively and spirited. More information about this new dimension to Alonzo's life, and his increased visibility, can be seen at his Web site.

It was Alonzo's World Premier in Denver in 1986 that led to the establishment of a information and clearinghouse center for Savant Syndrome, through the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation, and then eventually to the establishment and maintainance of this site.

Artism: Art by those with Autism Artism: Art by those with Autism is a stunning collection of art by 44 individuals with autism ranging from age 4 to adult. It includes work by some of the savants on this Web site including Richard Wawro, Boone Garvey and Christophe Pillault. The collection was a joint project of Karen Simmons of Autism Today (www.autismtoday.com) and Sandra McMurray of autism arts (www.autismarts.com). The collection was compiled by Karen Simmons and was published by, and is available through, Autism Today with its headquarters in Alberta, Canada. The book is dedicated "to all the fine people who have an autism spectrum disorder and to all those who love them and encourage them. Without their wonderful energy, this book never would have been!"

As the cover states, the book "is more than simply an artists' showcase. It is a model designed to shed new light onto the all too often misunderstood world of autism. In this first-of-its-kind art collection, we present the mind's eye view of individuals with autism from around the world. Their colorful, brilliant, often lonely worlds come to life in diverse mediums: elegant line drawings, muted watercolors, vibrant temperas, confident acrylics...."

Artism is an insightful glimpse into, and a colorful shout out from, the fascinating world of the autistic artist and autistic savant. It can be ordered through the bookstore at the Autism Today Web site at www.autismtoday.com.


New, Sophisticated Imaging Techniques

It was not too long ago when the only imaging technique to study autism and savant syndrome was the CAT scan, which was a high-resolution technique to study brain architecture. Soon after came MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which provided even dramatically higher resolution of brain structure. Then came PET, SPECT and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) which allow study of brain function, not just brain structure, representing a very significant research advance.

The American Society of Neuroradiologists is meeting June 5-12, 2004 in Seattle. At that meeting even newer techniques, and more importantly results from use of those techniques, will be reported. Those newer techniques include Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) sometimes referred to as Fiber Tracking. The latter is particularly interesting because first of all, it is non-invasive, and secondly it permits tracking of the actual fiber tracks anatomically as they course through the brain hemispheres rather then having to 'map' them only by inference from functional imaging while the patient performs certain tasks.

Of particular usefulness in studying autism has been magnetoencephalography (MEG). An early press release by the ASNR states the following regarding the usefulness of MEG in studying autism: "MEG is a non-invasive, high resolution technique that can detect fields so minute that it can physically image a single thought in real-time. In this manner, MEG has been extremely insightful in gaining a greater understanding of how autistic children process sounds (only in the left hemisphere as opposed to both) and other aspects of language impairments, traditionally associated with autism. Together with MR imaging and functional MRI, it provides a picture of how brain functions are organized in individuals with autism."

This should be an exciting, insightful, time ahead as the alphabet soup of neuroimaging techniques provides an ever greater repertoire of tools to study the brain at work in illnesses such as autism, in special circumstances such as savant syndrome, and indeed, in day to day functioning within us all.

Septo-Optic Dysplasia, and Savant Syndrome A recent issue of Eye Contact, a publication of the Royal National Institute of the Blind in London, devotes the entire issue to Septo-Optic Dysplasia (SOD), sometimes referred to as Optic Nerve Hypoplasia or DeMorsier's Syndrome. As described elsewhere on this site, musical talent, sometimes at a prodigious level, occurs with some interesting regularity in SOD, as does autism itself. Dr. Adam Ockelford of Soundscape has an article in this issue entitled "Music and Children with SOD" which is repeated here in its entirety (requires Adobe). Other articles in this particular issue include an excellent summary of professional and parental issues entitled: "Septo-optic dysplasia and your child: a parent's and professional's view" and an entire section on "Parent's perspectives." Inquires about this special issue of Eye Contact, and its availability, can be obtained by contacting Adam Ockelford at aockelford@rnib.org.uk.

Another excellent source of information about this condition can be obtained from the Web site www.focusfamilies.org hosted by the Focus Families organization with a number of worldwide chapters.


Left Brain Damage and the Immune System

Increasingly evidence supports left hemisphere brain damage as being a critical etiological factor in some instances of savant syndrome as explained in articles elsewhere on this site. There is also considerable evidence of left hemisphere brain damage and dysfunction in autism itself (and as many as one in ten persons with autism have some savant abilities). Some have postulated that autism is an immune disorder. A new study has the interesting finding that epilepsy surgery produces different effects on the immune system since damage or surgery to the left half of the brain may make a right-handed person more susceptible to being immunocompromised.

The study was published in the May 24, 2004 on-line edition of the Annals of Neurology and is summarized at this link.

While the study makes no specific reference to autism or savant syndrome, the study does pose some interesting speculation in tying together immunologic response following left hemisphere brain damage, the etiology of autism & savant syndrome, and the increased incidence of both autism and savant syndrome in males (where cerebral lateralization and neuronal damage may play a vital role).

It is a clue, at least, worthy of further exploration.


The Rising Incidence of Autism and Thimerosal: A Connection?

Because savant syndrome occurs in as high as 10% of autistic children, any findings relative to the cause or incidence of autism are pertinent to the study of savant syndrome. Two recent articles are of interest.

A USA TODAY article explores the mystery of the increased incidence of autism so widely reported. While debate continues as to how much of this increase might be due to broader definitions of autistic disorder as opposed to an actual increase, most investigators agree there does seem to be an actual increase. Why this is so is the thrust of many investigations, and much speculation, at the present time.

One of the suspected causes for the increase in the incidence of autism has been a possible link between thimerosal (a mercury-containing preservative in childhood vaccines) and the onset of autistic disorder in some children who had developed normally until immunizations were administered. The Institute of Medicine has been studying this possible link, which has generated very heated debate, for some time. On May 18, 2004 the Institute issued a report which, for the first time, concluded that scientific evidence did not support a link between vaccine ingredients and autism, and concluded that further research was not warranted. While this may not end the debate, this report from the Institute of Medicine certainly provides substantial evidence against any such link. You can review the a published report of this IOM finding at www.medscape.com/viewarticle/478197 (requires you to log in) or you can view the Executive Summary of the report at www.sarnet.org/lib/IOMExecSum.pdf (large file; requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).


News Story: "A musical savant"

Rochelle Watson has cognitive disabilities, but astonishing talent

The Saint Augustine Record — May 1, 2004


Christophe Pillault: New Savant Profile

Click here for a new Savant Profile on Christophe Pillault of Olivet, France. An autistic savant, he is unable to talk, walk or feed himself. He discovered painting, using his hands though unable to use his fingers functionally. His paintings are striking due to the imagery, fascinating, improbable, and sometimes mystic characters represented.


Matt Savage Continues to Amaze

Matt Savage has yet another area of expertise — Geography. On April 1, 2004 Matt won the National Geography Bee state competition for New Hampshire. On May 25th and 26th Matt will represent that state in the national Geography Bee Finals in Washington, D.C. That event will be hosted by Alex Trebek and will be broadcast live on the National Geographic Channel. Matt has demonstrated his prodigious musical ability as a jazz musician at many concerts and on television, and the WIRED magazine story in December, 2003 highlighted his mathematical abilities as well. Now surfaces his Geography skills. Presently Matt is home-schooled but at age 11 he is at an advanced Algebra level and is able to teach math to third graders. Updated information about Matt, including his concert schedule for the Matt Savage Trio, can be accessed at his Web site at www.savagerecords.com. The Home Page on that site provides as well more information, some pictures, and newspaper story links regarding this more recently surfaced Geography talent and skill.


An Imaging Report and Left Hemisphere Dysfunction in Savant Syndrome

For those viewers fluent in Spanish, or with access to a translation, the journal Revista De Neurologia carries an article by Dr. J. A. Munoz-Yunta and co-workers from Barcelona, Spain titled "El sidrome de savant o idiot savant." The article focuses on recent imaging studies in savants and particularly on the support for left hemisphere damage in savants that neuroimaging supplies. The English Abstract reads thus:

"Savant Syndrome is currently still very mysterious, yet, thanks to the progress made in neuroimaging studies and especially MSI (Magnetic Source Imaging) techniques, a little more is now known about it. The theory, formulated many years ago, about damage to the left hemisphere of the brain has been supported by functional neuroimaging. Its relation to developmental disorders or to autism spectrum disorders is far more justified today and can be explained on the basis of its neuropathology. We present a study based on a review of the scientific literature concerning the syndrome, from the first time is was described back in 1789 by Benjamin Rush up to the present day. We comment on its epidemiology and positive clinical manifestations, involving brilliant artistic talent and dazzling memory, but also the negative aspects suffered by these autistic patients. The most important theories are discussed together with the clinical coincidence with frontotemporal dementia and the responsibility of the right hemisphere when there are alterations in the contralateral hemisphere. The latest contribution made by Positron Emission Tomography and magnetoencephalography will be discussed and a mini-video of a personal case will be projected (REV NEUROL 2003; 36(Supl 1): S157-61."


Asperger's and High Functioning Autism: The same or different disorders?

Often Autistic Spectrum Disorders are divided into three categories: Low Functioning Autism (IQ less than 70); High Functioning Autism (IQ greater than 70); and Asperger's syndrome. Using structural MRI imaging, Lotspeich and co-workers at Stanford and other facilities, attempted to see if there were differences in total brain volume, and particularly grey matter volume, between the low functioning autism, high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome groups. Click here for more on this story.


The TMS "Thinking Cap" and Savant Skills

The first formal published study on the use of TMS (Trans-magnetic Stimulation) to perhaps uncover latent savant skills in normal persons has now been published. Dr. Allan Snyder and co-workers at the Centre for the Mind in Sydney, Australia used TMS to suppress activity in the left fronto-temporal area of the brain of eleven male volunteers in order to measure changes in performance on tasks of drawing, and proofreading. Their paper titled "Savant-like skills exposed in normal people by suppressing the left fronto-temporal lobe" appeared recently in the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience (Volume 2, Number 2, 149-158, 2003). Click here for more on this story.


Update: Pi in the Sky (story immediately below)

Daniel Tammet was successful on March 14, 2004 in setting a new UK and European record by reciting Pi from memory, without error, to 22,514 decimal places in a time of 5 hours, 9 minutes. Read a BBC account of it here.

Pi in the Sky
The National Society for Epilepsy in London has an interesting press release announcing that a "Pi in the Sky" event will take place at the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford on March 14, 2004. On that date Daniel Tammet, whose childhood experience with epilepsy "left him with astonishing mental skills, including the ability to 'see' numbers in his head" and a prodigious memory, will use that "incredible memory to recall the mathematical constant Pi (3.141...) to over 22,500 decimal places to set and new British and European Record." The date coincides with both Pi Day and Einstein's birthday, and the event will take place in front of Einstein's blackboard.

Some background about Daniel Tammet is on the Optimnem Web site where it states "A series of seizures as a young child changed forever the way Daniel saw the world around him. For one thing, Daniel was able to literally 'see' numbers in his head, as if they were images. Not surprisingly, he quickly became proficient in number patterns, able to figure various roots, powers, even the decimal expansions for prime number fractions often quicker than a friend with a calculator.

"Unlike autistic savants, Daniel outgrew his disability. His astonishing mental skills remained. As an example, following an invitation from organizers, Daniel attended the largest ever 'World Mental Skills Championship' in London. In August, 2000, he was awarded the event's international gold medal for, among other things, the ability to memorize a string of 1,517 randomly-generated decimal digits in a single hour — backwards as well as forwards.

"Daniel was subsequently invited to London's Institute of Neurology to undergo tests for a landmark study of prodigious mental ability. The summarized data, co-written by some of Britain's leading brain scientists, appeared in the New Year 2003 edition of the highly prestigious Nature neuro-scientific magazine."





For more information, please contact:
Darold A. Treffert, MD
St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison
Personal Web site: www.daroldtreffert.com
E-mail: daroldt@charter.net