Khaberni - The world witnesses rare cases of people who suddenly acquire exceptional abilities after a brain injury or severe accident, becoming suddenly musicians, painters, or mathematicians, in a phenomenon called "Acquired Savant Syndrome".
The newspaper Le Figaro reported that the number of such cases does not exceed a few dozens worldwide, but their stories intrigue scientists, highlighting that neurosciences have begun to unravel this baffling puzzle.
In a report by Dr. Natalie Zabirow Manoukian, the newspaper reviewed the story of an American named Jason Padgett, who suddenly became a math genius after a head injury in 2002, to the point that everything he saw seemed fragmented into an infinite number of small geometric shapes which he could draw.
The newspaper also referred to the story of another American named Tony Cicoria, who experienced a similar phenomenon in 1994 when he suddenly became an unprecedented musical talent after being struck by lightning, to the point of starting to compose music and turning it into his new profession.
The newspaper pointed out that the common factor between these cases is a primary brain issue, be it injury, stroke, or frontal-temporal dementia, which led to the emergence of talent, and clarified that this is called "Acquired Savant Syndrome".
The brain does not produce a skill
Although there are only about 40 known cases of this syndrome worldwide, it is not, despite its impressive appearance, mysterious or supernatural, according to neuroscientists.
Neurologists confirm that what seems miraculous is actually latent skills that existed in the brain without manifesting in consciousness. Specialists completely ruled out the notion of acquiring previously unknown skills, such as speaking a foreign language without learning it, explaining that the brain does not create a new skill from nothing but frees capabilities that were dormant.
Autism studies have helped understand this phenomenon, according to the newspaper, as 10 to 30% of children with autism spectrum disorder possess exceptional talents in specific areas like music, drawing, or math, despite their cognitive difficulties in other areas.
According to the newspaper, this is associated with an unusual pattern in neural circuit connectivity, where some regions are hyper-connected and others are weakly connected, allowing the emergence of extraordinary abilities in certain areas.
Experts explain that the weakening of the inhibitory role of the frontal lobe may free local neural circuits, revealing hidden abilities, whether in children or after brain injury in adults.
Today, researchers, using high-resolution brain mapping, are drawing maps of these neural networks to understand the mechanisms of these unusual skills in children with autism, aiming to help them develop their other capabilities, especially social skills, and improve the quality of their lives.
