David Shenk shows studies conducted by University of
Sydney’s Allan Snyder and others which stated that impairing part of the brain can lead to “temporary
savant-like tendencies” (Shenk 90). They go on to say that “savant-like skills
might also be made accessible by altered states of perception or by
EEG-assisted feedback” (Shenk 90). They support this claim by showing that
Oliver Sacks can only draw with extreme precision while under the influence of
amphetamines. What kind of biochemical and biological changes does altering the
state of perception cause? How can this help give normal people “temporary
savant-like tendencies”?
Yiran Xu, yxu135@gmail.com
The brain is a very mysterious and magnificent organ. The human brain has seemingly limitless potential. Many scientist and psychologists claim “humans use maybe 1 to 10 percent of our brain” (http://scienceray.com/biology/human-biology/how-much-brain-do-we-use/). The human brain has so much power and potential and humans only use about one tenth of their brain’s ability. However, it is possible to use more than the average person. In some cases, damage or injury to one part of the brain could possibly trigger the rest of the brain to work harder and try and compensate for the damaged area. This is called Savant Syndrome (http://www.psy.dmu.ac.uk/drhiles/Savant%20Syndrome.htm). Many scientists believe that the “underlying cause of savant syndrome is a left brain injury with right brain compensation” (http://www.brainskills.co.uk/savantsyndrome.html). Some with Savant Syndrome have the abilities to memorize the calendar backwards and forward for 40,000 years or are able to multiply and divide very large numbers in seconds. However, these individuals lack the ability to do simple math in everyday life. Over half the people who have Savant Syndrome also suffer from autism (http://www.brainskills.co.uk/savantsyndrome.html). Mental retardation is not the only way to obtain these Savant-like abilities. University of Sydney’s Allan W. Snyder believes that “savant-like skills might also be made accessible by altered states of perception…” (Shenk, 90). There have been great examples of people, including neurologist Oliver Sacks, who have obtained temporary Savant like abilities.
ReplyDeleteTo Be continued
Aaron Appelbaum (aaronbaron580@aol.com)
continuation from above...
ReplyDeleteOliver Sacks is an extremely famous Neurologist who works in New York teaching at Columbia University as well as doing other research. He is evidence of the idea that altered states can cause temporary Savant like abilities. He is able to produce “camera-like precise drawings only when under the influence of amphetamines” (Shenk, 90). Another example of these temporary abilities was the Savant-like cave art of some Native American groups in the southwest United States. These groups commonly used hallucinogenic drugs such as mescaline or peyote during ceremonies. David Shenk writes “ Early (savant-like) cave art has been attributed to mescaline indued perceptual states” (Shenk,90).
In both examples, people were using mind altering drugs. The amphetamines used by Sacks, act like dopamine in the brain and prevent dopamine reuptake. This allows more dopamine to get through the synaptic gap. This increased level of dopamine greatly alters brain function and ones perception. In the case of Sacks and some Native Americans, this change in perception is the cause of the achieved savant abilities. According to a study done by Allen Synder involving subjects tested for artistic ability after temporarily affected parts of the frontal lobe “[increased artistic ability] is due to turning off part of the brain, not exciting it” (http://www.centreforthemind.com/images/savantskills.pdf). This suggests that when part of the brain is turned off, other parts of the brain are stimulated to work harder to try and compensate. In the study, the logical left side of the brain was affected, which left the creative right side of the brain to increase function. Drugs and other factors that alter brain function and perception have the ability to decrease brain function in normal people and this could cause the increased use of other parts of the brain. The increased brain function could result in the exposure of some savant like abilities. The brain’s tendency to increase brain function after trauma to other sections is a result of the brains desire to maintain normalcy in the brain, or homeostasis. If something were to go wrong in the brain, the brain would try and compensate for these problems to try and maintain normal function and keep the body working as smoothly as possible. The body is always adjusting and just wants to keep itself in the perfect conditions to survive and reproduce. Increased brain function in one section to compensate for another section that is lagging is just another attempt to try and maintain these normal conditions.
Aaron Appelbaum (aaronbaron580@aol.com)