1. Explain in detail what "savant syndrome" means.
Savants are particular types of persons who have certain mental or physical disabilities but have some incredible talents being brilliant in a certain area. In 1887, he coined the term "idiot savant" - meaning low intelligence, and from the French, savoir, knowing or wise, to describe someone who had "extraordinary memory but with a great defect in reasoning power." This term is now little used because of its inappropriate connotations, and the term savant syndrome has now been more or less adopted. Something that almost all savants have in common is a prodigious memory of a special type. Also, many savants are found to have incredible artistic or musical abilities. A person with Savant syndrome understands a specific ability or subject to a near perfect level, but has other impaired. Savant-like skills may be in everyone and have actually been activated in people by directing low-frequency magnetic pulses into the brain's left hemisphere, which is thought to deactivate this dominant region (in at least 90% of right-handed people) and allow the less dominant right hemisphere to take over, allowing for processing of savant-like tasks.
http://www.psy.dmu.ac.uk/drhiles/Savant%20Syndrome.htm
2. What does genius mean? Explain the difference between genius and savant.
A genius is someone who is exceptionally intelligent, who has much creativity to invent, discover or create something new within their field of interest instead of just reciting existing information. Most of them analyze the work of other great minds and use that information to make new discoveries. Still there are self-taught geniuses often explore information in unexpected or innovative ways. Genius are different from savants as they create and can be talented in many different areas while savants just hold on information and are good in one area.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/genius3.htm
3. What is a stroke and how could it affect your mental functioning?
A stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel or artery, or when a blood vessel breaks and interrupts blood flow to an and bleeding occurs into an area of the brain. It will affect us depending on which area of the brain is damaged losing any ability that is provided by that part. For example, the cerebellum controls much of our balance and coordination. A stroke that takes place in the cerebellum can cause abnormal reflexes of the head and torso, coordination and balance problems, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.
http://brainfoundation.org.au/a-z-of-disorders/107-stroke
4. What is a functional MRI and how does it help us understand brain activity?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. MRI uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and virtually all other internal body structures. The images are then analyzed on a computer monitor. Detailed MR images allow physicians to examine various parts of the body better and determine the presence of certain diseases. MRI is a relatively new procedure that uses MR imaging to measure minute metabolic changes that take place in an active part of the brain. Some common uses of MRI are to look at the brain’s anatomy, determine which parts of the brain are responsible for certain functions, and evaluate the causes and effects of traumas or strokes.
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=fmribrain
5. What is the corpus Callosum and what role does it play in your brain's activity?
The Corpus Callosum connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and is responsible for most of the communication between the two. It is composed of white matter, that is, myelinated nerve cells, or axons, whose primary function is to connect grey areas together with neural impulses.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-corpus-callosum.htm
6. What is epilepsy and how might it affect your brain's abilities?
Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes people to have recurring seizures. The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals. People may have strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. They may have violent muscle spasms or lose consciousness. Epilepsy has many possible causes, including illness, brain injury and abnormal brain development. In many cases, the cause is unknown. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/epilepsy.html
7. What is autism?
Autism is a moderately rare condition caused by a complex developmental disability that mostly appears during the first three years of life. It is a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the developing brain, resulting sometimes in severe communicative, social and cognitive deficits. It is estimated autism occurs as 1 in 500 individuals, and is four times more prevalent in boys than girls. It has been concluded that autism does not have any relation with any demographic features, such as economic, class, racial, ethnic, etc.
http://www.psy.dmu.ac.uk/drhiles/Savant%20Syndrome.htm
8. What is Asperger's Syndrome?
Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and it is distinguished by a greater or lesser degree of impairment in language and communication skills and repetitive or restraining patterns of thought and behavior. Children with AS differ from children with autism as they retain their early language skills. The most characteristic symptom of AS is a child’s obsessive interest in just a single object or topic excluding any other. Children with AS want to know everything about their topic of interest. When having conversations with others they won’t talk about anything else. They present high levels of vocabulary, and formal speech patterns.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/asperger.htm
Images:
http://www.nlqb.net/2009/06/kim-peek-y-el-sindrome-del-savant.html
http://horthy66.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/aniversario-del-natalicio-de-ludwig-van-beethoven/
http://www.germansabogal.com/?p=3230
