Savant syndrome

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Savant" redirects here. For other uses, see Savant (disambiguation).
Savant syndrome
Other namesAutistic savant, savant syndrome (historical)
brain injury[1]
Frequency~1 in a million people[4]

Savant syndrome (/sæˈvɑːnt, səˈvɑːnt, ˈsævənt/) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment.[1]

Those with the condition generally have a

autistic savants. [fr][1] While the condition usually becomes apparent in childhood, some cases develop later in life.[1] It is not recognized as a mental disorder within the DSM-5, as it relates to parts of the brain healing or restructuring.[5]

Savant syndrome is estimated to affect around one in a million people.

autistic; the other half often have some form of central nervous system injury or disease.[1] It is estimated that between 0.5% up to 10% of those with autism have some form of savant abilities.[1][6][7] It is estimated that there are fewer than a hundred prodigious savants, with skills so extraordinary that they would be considered spectacular even for a non-impaired person, currently living.[1]

Signs and symptoms

Venice by British artistic savant Stephen Wiltshire

Savant skills are usually found in one or more of five major areas: art, memory, arithmetic, musical abilities, and

calculate the day of the week for any given date with speed and accuracy, or recall personal memories from any given date. Advanced memory is the key "superpower" in savant abilities.[8]

Calendrical savants

A calendrical savant (or calendar savant) is someone who – despite having an intellectual disability – can name the day of the week of a date, or vice versa, on a limited range of decades or certain millennia.[9][10] The rarity of human calendar calculators is possibly due to the lack of motivation to develop such skills among the general population, although mathematicians have developed formulas that allow them to obtain similar skills.[10] Calendrical savants, on the other hand, may not be prone to invest in socially engaging skills.[11]

Mechanism

Psychological

No widely accepted

external world.[14] Also, the attention to detail of savants is a consequence of enhanced perception or sensory hypersensitivity in these unique individuals.[14][15] It has also been hypothesized that some savants operate by directly accessing deep, unfiltered information that exists in all human brains that is not normally available to conscious awareness.[16]

Neurological

In some cases, savant syndrome can be induced following severe head trauma to the left anterior temporal lobe.[1] Savant syndrome has been artificially replicated using low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation to temporarily disable this area of the brain.[17]

Epidemiology

See also: Epidemiology of autism

There are no objectively definitive statistics about how many people have savant skills. The estimates range from "exceedingly rare"[18] to one in ten people with autism having savant skills in varying degrees.[1] A 2009 British study of 137 parents of autistic children found that 28% believe their children met the criteria for a savant skill, defined as a skill or power "at a level that would be unusual even for 'normal' people".[19] As many as 50 cases of sudden or acquired savant syndrome have been reported.[20][21]

Males diagnosed with savant syndrome outnumber females by roughly 6:1 (in Finland),[22] slightly higher than the sex ratio disparity for autism spectrum disorders of 4.3:1.[23]

History

The term idiot savant (

autistic savant  [fr] was also used as a description of the disorder. Like idiot savant, the term came to be considered a misnomer because only half of those who were diagnosed with savant syndrome were autistic. Upon realization of the need for accuracy of diagnosis and dignity towards the individual, the term savant syndrome became widely accepted terminology.[1][18]

Society and culture

Notable cases

Acquired cases

Fictional cases

  • Shaun Murphy, autistic savant in the 2017 American medical drama television series The Good Doctor.
  • Raymond Babbitt, autistic savant in the 1988 film Rain Man (inspired by Kim Peek
    )
  • Park Shi-on, autistic savant in the 2013 South Korean medical drama Good Doctor
  • Kazan, autistic savant in the 1997 film Cube
  • Kazuo Kiriyama, main antagonist in the Japan 1999 novel Battle Royale
  • Jeong Jae-hee, autistic savant in the 2021 South Korean psychological drama Mouse
  • Patrick Obyedkov, acquired savant in a 2007 episode of the U.S. medical drama House.
  • Woo Young-woo, autistic savant in the 2022 South Korean legal drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
  • Mashiro Shiina, savant in the 2012 anime series The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.
  • Ali Vefa, autistic savant in the 2019 Turkish medical drama Mucize Doktor, based on the South Korean series Good Doctor.
  • Forrest Gump, savant in the 1986 novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom.

See also

References

  1. ^
    PMID 19528017
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  2. PMID 9990844
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  3. PMID 22411254
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  4. ^
    ISBN 9781614515173. Archived
    from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  5. ISBN 9781440803833. Archived
    from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  6. ^ Treffert DA. "The Autistic Savant". Wisconsin Medical Society. Archived from the original on 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  7. ^ "Savant Syndrome Statistics". Health Research Funding. 2014-07-12. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
  8. ^
    S2CID 20306664
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  9. ^
    PMID 17686947
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    S2CID 34912923. Archived
    from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  11. PMID 19528025
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  12. PMID 15991873
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  13. PMID 19528019. Archived
    from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  14. ^
    PMID 19528020
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  15. PMID 19528021
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  16. PMID 19528023. Archived
    from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  17. PMID 19528023
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  18. ^ a b Hiles, Dave (2001). "Savant Syndrome". De Montfort University. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  19. PMID 19528018. Archived
    from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  20. ^ Yant-Kinney M (2012-08-20). "An artist is born after car crash". The Inquirer. Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  21. Daily Telegraph. 17 April 2015. Archived
    from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  22. ^ Treffert, Darold. A Visual Feast Archived 2020-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
  23. PMID 17367287
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  24. ^ McGowan, Kat (March 13, 2013). "Exploring Temple Grandin's Brain". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  25. ^ "The Physics of Success". UC Davis Stories. March 23, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  26. ISBN 9781849050234. Archived
    from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
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