Savant syndrome , sometimes abbreviated savantism (from French savant [savɑ̃] - “ scientist ”) is a rare condition [1] in which individuals with developmental disabilities (including autistic ones ) have an “island of genius” - outstanding abilities in one or several areas of knowledge, contrasting with the general limitations of the individual. The phenomenon can be genetically determined or acquired [1] . The condition was first described by John Langdon Down in 1887 under the term "idiot savant" (from the French - "learned idiot") [1] .
| Savant's syndrome | |
|---|---|
 Kim Peak - American savant and prototype of the hero Dustin Hoffman in the movie "Rain Man" | |
| ICD-9 | 315.8 |
Content
Related Mental Disorders
Savant's syndrome is quite rare and usually is a secondary phenomenon that accompanies some forms of general mental development disorder, such as childhood autism or Asperger's syndrome , or mental retardation . In extremely rare cases, it may be one of the consequences of a traumatic brain injury or disease affecting the brain. About half of the cases are associated with autism [1] . Despite the fact that this condition is called a syndrome , it is not included in modern medical classifiers: neither in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the 5th edition ( DSM-5 ), nor in the International Classification of Diseases of the 10th revision ( ICD-10 ) .
Areas of Knowledge and Abilities
Areas in which savant abilities are more often manifested: music , art , arithmetic calculations, calendar calculations, cartography , and the construction of complex three-dimensional models.
A person with savant's syndrome may be able to repeat several pages of the text he heard only once, accurately name the result of multiplying multi-digit numbers, as if he knew the result in advance, or say what day of the week January 1 of any year will be. There are savants who can sing all the heard arias from the opera, or draw a map of the London area after flying over the city, as did the 29-year-old savant Stephen Wiltshire . In addition, among the registered manifestations of savant syndrome there are abilities to learn foreign languages, an acute sense of time, a subtle distinction between smells and others. At the same time, in areas lying outside the manifestations of the syndrome, such a person can demonstrate obvious inferiority, up to mental retardation . The most common "calendar" savantism, a little less common savants with phenomenal memory. There is also - extremely high mathematical abilities [2] . Such people are called phenomenal counters .
The psychiatric literature describes cases of exceptional memory and “calendar” savantism (the ability to accurately indicate the day of the week of any date for hundreds of years in the future or the past) in patients with oligophrenia in the degree of imbecility [3] .
Reasons for Savantism
In psychiatric literature, savantism is explained by the asynchrony of brain development. Moreover, underdevelopment in one of the areas of mental activity is accompanied by hypercompensation in another [3] .
Savantism in Culture
- The protagonist of Winston Groom ’s novel “ Forrest Gump ” [4]
- The protagonist of the novel by Mark Haddon "The mysterious night killing of a dog "
- Raymond Babbitt in the film Rain Man - Dustin Hoffman received an Academy Award for this role. Getting used to the image before filming began, the actor for a long time communicated with one of the famous savants of our time, Kim Peak [comm. 1] .
- Sean Murphy from the TV series Good Doctor has autism and savant syndrome, which often helped him give out brilliant ideas and operate on people.
See also
- Phenomenal counter
- Autism
- Synesthesia
- Asperger Syndrome
- Genius
Comments
- ↑ "Not everyone knows that the character of Dustin Hoffman had a real prototype - American Kim Peak, who died in 2009"
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Darold A. Treffert, MD. "The savant syndrome: an extraordinary condition. A synopsis: past, present, future ” . Wisconsin Medical Society . Archived March 4, 2012.
- ↑ González-Garrido AA, Ruiz-Sandoval JL, Gómez-Velázquez FR, de Alba JL, Villaseñor-Cabrera T. Hypercalculia in savant syndrome: central executive failure? (rum.) // Arch Med Res. - 2002.- T. 33 , nr. 6 . - P. 586-589 . - DOI : 10.1016 / S0188-4409 (02) 00404-6 . - PMID 12505107 .
- ↑ 1 2 V.P. Samokhvalov. Psychiatric Clinic: A manual for students and interns. - Simferopol, 2003 .-- S. 372. - 608 p. - ISBN 966-7348-06-7 .
- ↑ Delarte, Alonso . Movies By The Book: Forrest Gump (PDF), Bob's Poetry Magazine (February 2004), p. 24. Archived March 27, 2009. Date of treatment July 2, 2009.