Phil. Trans. R. Soc.

B (2009) 364, 1351–1357

doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0326

The savant syndrome: an extraordinary condition.

A synopsis: past, present, future
Darold A. Treffert1,2,*
1
University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, WI 53726, USA
2
Behavioral Health Department, St Agnes Hospital, 430 East Division Street,
Fond du Lac, WI 54935, USA
Savant syndrome is a rare, but extraordinary, condition in which persons with serious mental
disabilities, including autistic disorder, have some ‘island of genius’ which stands in marked,
incongruous contrast to overall handicap. As many as one in 10 persons with autistic disorder have
such remarkable abilities in varying degrees, although savant syndrome occurs in other
developmental disabilities or in other types of central nervous system injury or disease as well.
Whatever the particular savant skill, it is always linked to massive memory. This paper presents a brief
review of the phenomenology of savant skills, the history of the concept and implications for
education and future research.
Keywords: savant syndrome; autism; memory; brain; education

1. INTRODUCTION Reports of female savants continue to be relatively

Without doubt, the best-known autistic savant is a few. Selfe (1978) described the case of Nadia, which
fictional one, Raymond Babbitt, as portrayed by Dustin has triggered considerable debate about the possible
Hoffman in the 1988 movie Rain man. However, the ‘trade-off’ of special skills for language and social skills
original inspiration for the savant portrayed in acquisition. Viscott (1969) documented in detail,
Rain man was a now 57-year-old male who has including psychodynamic formulations, a female
memorized over 6000 books and has encyclopedic musical savant whom he followed for many years.
knowledge of geography, music, literature, history, Treffert (2006a) described a blind, autistic musical
sports and nine other areas of expertise (Peek & savant who, along with her musical ability, demon-
Hanson 2008). He can name all the US area codes and strated very precise spatial location abilities and precise
major city zip codes. He has also memorized the maps time-keeping skills without access to a clock face or
in the front of telephone books and can tell you other time instruments.
precisely how to get from one US city to another, and Detailed reports of these and many other savants
then how to get around in that city street by street. He dating from Down’s original description of the disorder
also has calendar-calculating abilities and, more are contained in Extraordinary people: understanding
recently, rather advanced musical talent has surfaced. savant syndrome ( Treffert 2006a). Moreover, infor-
Of unique interest is his ability to read extremely mation about many of them, including some video
rapidly, simultaneously scanning one page with the left clips, can be accessed on the savant syndrome
eye and the other page with the right eye. Magnetic website at www.savantsyndrome.com maintained by
resonance imaging (MRI ) shows the absence of the the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation.
corpus callosum along with other substantial central
nervous system (CNS) damage.
The combination of blindness, mental handicap and 2. WHERE WE HAVE BEEN
Savant syndrome, with its ‘islands of genius’, has a
musical genius is conspicuously over-represented
long history. The first account of savant syndrome in
throughout the reports of savant syndrome from
a scientific paper appeared in the German psychology
earliest times. Prominent cases include Blind Tom
journal, Gnothi Sauton, in 1783, describing the case
who travelled internationally and became famous in the
of Jedediah Buxton, a lightning calculator with
1800s, Tredgold’s case at the Salpetriere even earlier
extraordinary memory (Mortiz 1783). Rush (1789),
than that and a number of well-known present-day
the father of American psychiatry, also provided one
musical savants. Why that rare triad of musical genius,
of the earliest reports when he described the lightning
blindness and mental handicaps should occur so calculating ability of Thomas Fuller ‘who could
consistently in the already rare condition of savant comprehend scarcely anything, either theoretical or
syndrome deserves very careful study. practical, more complex than counting’. However,
* Address for correspondence: Behavioral Health Department, St
when Fuller was asked how many seconds a man had
Agnes Hospital, 430 East Division Street, Fond du Lac, WI 54935, lived who was 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he
USA ([email protected]). gave the correct answer of 2 210 500 800 in 90 s,
One contribution of 18 to a Discussion Meeting Issue ‘Autism and even correcting for the 17 leap years included
talent’. (Scripture 1891).

1351 This journal is q 2009 The Royal Society

1352 D. A. Treffert The savant syndrome

However, the first specific description of savant observation about what he called ‘developmental
syndrome took place in London in 1887 when retardation’. Today, that condition is known as autistic
Dr J. Langdon Down gave that year’s prestigious disorder (Treffert 2006b). Reflecting on his 30 years
Lettsomian Lecture at the invitation of the Medical of experience, he divided mental retardation into
Society of London. In that lecture, he reflected on his ‘congenital’ and ‘accidental’ categories. However, he
30 years as a physician at the Earlswood Hospital and mentioned, there was a third kind of mental retardation
described ‘an interesting class of cases for which the that occurred in children who did not have the usual
term ‘idiot savants’ has been given, and of which a ‘physical aspects’ of retardation. Some of these children
considerable number have come under my obser- had developed normally and then suddenly regressed
vation’. He then presented 10 cases of persons with and ‘lost wonted brightness’ and ‘lost speech’. There
‘special faculties’ that read exactly similar to cases now was the suspension of ‘normal intellectual growth’.
121 years later. One of his patients had memorized These children lived ‘in a world of their own’, spoke ‘in
The rise and fall of the Roman Empire verbatim and could the third person’, had ‘rhythmical and automatic
recite it backwards or forwards. Other children drew movements’ and ‘lessened responsiveness to all endear-
with remarkable skill but ‘had a comparative blank in ments of friends’.
all the other faculties of mind’. Still other children Down called this ‘developmental retardation’ and
showed music ability, arithmetical genius or precise described what are, without doubt, cases of both early-
timekeeping skill, all of which, taken together, onset and late-onset (regressive) autism. That he
comprised a clinical picture of savant syndrome— should choose the term ‘developmental’ for this form
special skillsCphenomenal memory—which unfail- of disorder is interesting indeed, because it was fully
ingly reoccurs in case reports to this day. 93 years later that the term ‘developmental disorders’
In 1887, ‘idiot’ was an accepted classification for was included, for the first time, in the DSM III
persons with an IQ below 25, and ‘savant’, or (DSM-III, 2009), for the category in which autistic
‘knowledgeable person’, was derived from the French disorder was included. The fact that regressive or
word savoir meaning ‘to know’. Down joined those late-onset autism occurred, and was described so
words together and coined the term idiot savant by accurately by Down, more than a century ago is an
which the condition was generally known over the next important perspective to bear in mind in present-day
century. While descriptive, the term was actually a discussions about the autism ‘epidemic’ and causes of
misnomer since almost all cases occur in persons with regressive autism.
an IQ higher than 40. In the interest of accuracy and Of course, it was Kanner (1944) who described what
dignity, savant syndrome now has been substituted and he called ‘early infantile autism’. Many of the same
is widely used. Savant syndrome is preferable to behaviours and traits Down commented on in his
‘autistic savant’ since only approximately 50 per cent developmental retardation group of patients were
of persons with savant syndrome have autistic spectrum similarly noted by Kanner in his description of his
disorder and the other 50 per cent have some other 10 original cases. Six of those individuals had special
forms of CNS injury or disease. musical abilities and Kanner was struck as well by the
Tredgold (1914), also from the Earlswood Hospital, overall heightened memory capacity of all 10 persons in
wrote a very comprehensive account of savant that original group.
syndrome in a chapter in his well-known textbook,
Mental deficiency. This classic chapter, which was carried
for many years into subsequent editions, described over 3. WHAT WE DO KNOW
20 additional cases from a variety of clinicians. Hill After several centuries of reports and observations, we
(1978), provided a review of the literature between 1890 know that:
and 1978, including 60 reports involving over 100
savants. That same year, Rimland provided a summary (a) The condition is rare but one in 10 autistic
of his data on ‘special abilities’ in 531 cases from a survey persons show some savant skills
population of 5400 children with autism. Treffert In Rimland’s (1978) survey of 5400 children with
(1988) provided an updated review, which contained autism, 531 were reported by parents to have special
more detail on all of those earlier cases and suggested abilities and a 10 per cent incidence of savant syndrome
that the name of the condition be changed to savant has become the generally accepted figure in autistic
syndrome. In 1989, Extraordinary people was first disorder. Hermelin (2001), however, estimated that
published by Treffert, summarizing a century of cases, figure to be as low as ‘one or two in 200’. But the
observations and research findings since Down’s 1887 presence of savant syndrome is not limited to autism. In
description of the disorder. In her book, Bright splinters of a survey of an institutionalized population with a
the mind, Hermelin (2001) summarized her findings diagnosis of mental retardation, the incidence of savant
based on 20 years of research by her and her co-workers. skills was 1 : 2000 (0.06%; Hill 1977). A more recent
A comprehensive review article by Heaton & Wallace study surveyed 583 facilities, and found a prevalence
(2004) also provides an extensive bibliography on rate of 1.4 per 1000, or approximately double the Hill
research to that date. estimate (Saloviita et al. 2000).
Whatever the exact figures, mental retardation and
(a) Did Dr Down describe autism? other forms of developmental disability are more
While Down is best known for having described common than autistic disorder, so a reasonable
Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21) and savant syndrome estimate might be that approximately 50 per cent of
in his 1887 lecture, he made an additional very astute persons with savant syndrome have autistic disorder

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009)

 The savant syndrome D. A. Treffert 1353

and the other 50 per cent have other forms of is distinguished by precocity rather than age-indepen-
developmental disability, mental retardation or other dent level of skill, has also been frequently reported in
CNS injury or disease. Thus, not all autistic persons autism (Grigorenko et al. 2002).
have savant syndrome and not all persons with savant Generally, a single special skill exists but, in some
syndrome have autistic disorder. instances, several skills exist simultaneously. Rimland &
Fein (1988) noted that the incidence of multiple skills
(b) Males outnumber females in autism and appeared to be higher in savants with autism than in
savant syndrome savants with other developmental disabilities. Whatever
Males outnumber females by an approximate 6 : 1 ratio the special skill, it is always associated with prodigious
in savant syndrome compared with an approximate 4 : 1 memory. Some observers list memory as a separate
ratio in autistic disorder. In explaining that finding, special skill; however, prodigious memory is an ability
Geschwind & Galaburda (1987) in their work on all savants possess cutting across all of the skill areas as
cerebral lateralization pointed out that the left hemi- a shared, integral part of the syndrome itself. Several
sphere normally completes its development later than investigators have shown that memory alone cannot
the right hemisphere and is thus subjected to prenatal fully account for savant abilities, particularly calendar
influences, some of which can be detrimental, for a calculating and musical skills ( Nettlebeck & Young
longer period of time. In the male foetus particularly, 1999; Hermelin 2001). Formal testing for eidetic
circulating testosterone, which can reach very high imagery shows that phenomenon to be present in
levels, can slow growth and impair neuronal function some, but certainly not all, savants and when present it
in the more vulnerably exposed left hemisphere, with may exist more as a marker of brain damage than being
actual enlargement and shift of dominance favouring central to savant abilities (Bender et al. 1968; Giray &
skills associated with the right hemisphere. A ‘pathology Barclay 1977).
of superiority’ was postulated, with compensatory
growth in the right brain as a result of impaired (d) There is a spectrum of savant skills
development or actual injury to the left brain. The most common are splinter skills, which include
This finding may account as well for the high obsessive preoccupation with, and memorization of,
male : female ratio in other disorders, including autism music and sports trivia, license plate numbers, maps,
itself since left hemisphere dysfunction is often seen in historical facts or obscure items such as vacuum cleaner
autism (Treffert 2005, 2006a). Other conditions, such motor sounds, for example. Talented savants are those
as dyslexia, delayed speech and stuttering, also have a cognitively impaired persons in whom the musical,
male predominance in incidence, which may be a artistic or other special abilities are more prominent
manifestation of the same left hemisphere growth and highly honed, usually within an area of single
interference in the prenatal period described above. expertise and are very conspicuous when viewed in
contrast to overall disability. Prodigious savant is a term
(c) Savant skills typically occur in an intriguingly reserved for those extraordinarily rare individuals for
narrow range of special abilities whom the special skill is so outstanding that it would be
Considering all the abilities in the human repertoire, it spectacular even if it were to occur in a non-impaired
is interesting that savant skills generally narrow to five person. There are, from my experience, probably fewer
general categories: music, usually performance, most than 100 known prodigious savants living worldwide at
often piano, with perfect pitch, although composing in the present time who would meet that very high
the absence of performing has been reported as has threshold of savant ability.
been playing multiple instruments (as many as 22);
art, usually drawing, painting or sculpting; calendar (e) The special skills are always accompanied by
calculating (curiously an obscure skill in most persons); prodigious memory
mathematics, including lightning calculating or the Whatever the special abilities, a remarkable memory of a
ability to compute prime numbers, for example, in unique and uniform type welds the condition together.
the absence of other simple arithmetic abilities; and Terms such as automatic, mechanical, concrete and
mechanical or spatial skills, including the capacity to habit-like have been applied to this extraordinary
measure distances precisely without benefit of instru- memory. Down (1887) used the term ‘verbal adhesion’;
ments, the ability to construct complex models or Critchley (1979) used the term ‘exultation of memory’
structures with painstaking accuracy or the mastery of or ‘memory without reckoning’; Tredgold (1914) used
map making and direction finding. the term ‘automatic’; and Barr (1898) characterized his
Other skills have been reported less often, including: patient with prodigious memory as ‘an exaggerated form
prodigious language (poly-glot) facility; unusual of habit’. Such unconscious memory suggests what
sensory discrimination in smell, touch or vision Mishkin et al. (1984) referred to as non-conscious
including synaesthesia; perfect appreciation of passing ‘habit’ formation rather than a ‘semantic’ memory
time without benefit of a clock; and outstanding system. They proposed two different neural circuits for
knowledge in specific fields such as neurophysiology, these two different types of memory: a higher level
statistics or navigation. In Rimland’s (1978) sample corticolimbic circuit for semantic memory and a lower
of 543 children with special skills, musical ability level cortico-striatal circuit for the more primitive habit
was the most frequently reported skill followed by memory, which is sometimes referred to as procedural
memory, art, pseudo-verbal abilities, mathematics, or implicit memory. Savant memory is characteristically
maps and directions, coordination, calendar calcu- very deep, but exceedingly narrow, within the confines
lating and extrasensory perception. Hyperlexia, which of the accompanying special skill.

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009)

1354 D. A. Treffert The savant syndrome

(f ) Savant syndrome can be congenital or it can savant abilities in a number of prodigious savants
be acquired particularly that ends in the capacity to be creative.
Most often savant skills emerge in childhood, super- In the light of these observations, I would revise my
imposed on some underlying developmental disability original comments in my book Extraordinary people that
present at birth. However, ‘acquired’ savant skills can savants certainly demonstrated remarkable talent, and
also appear, when none were previously present, in stunning replication abilities, but were not very
neurotypical individuals following brain injury or creative. I was wrong.
disease later in infancy, childhood or adult life The pattern I have observed begins with spectacular,
(Lythgoe et al. 2005; Treffert 2006a). Recent reports literal replication of things seen or heard. Leslie Lemke,
of savant-type abilities emerging in previously healthy for example, played back Tchaikovsky’s first piano
elderly persons with fronto-temporal dementia have concerto flawlessly at age 14, having heard it for the
been particularly intriguing (Miller et al. 1998, 2000; first time as a theme song to a television movie. From
Hou et al. 2000). The prospect of dormant potential there Leslie moved, over time, from literal replication
triggered, or released, by CNS injury existing within (which he can still do) to improvisation, seemingly
each person has far-reaching implications, as discussed having become bored with just reproducing what he has
elsewhere in this volume. heard. In recent years, Leslie has moved now to creation
An important question is whether special skills of entirely new songs that he composes, plays and sings.
are found in first-degree relatives of savants. Two This pattern of replication to improvisation to creation has
studies, one with 25 savants and another with been demonstrated in other musical savants. A well-
51 subjects, showed relatives with special skills known Japanese musical savant’s ability as a composer
in some but certainly not all cases ( Duckett demonstrates decisively that savants can be creative; his
1976; Young 1995). Another study of 23 relatives of 40 original pieces on two internationally popular CDs
carefully studied savants found only one family forcefully document that ability (Cameron 1998).
member with special skills (LaFontaine 1974). That same transition can be seen in artistic savants.
Young (1995) travelled to a number of countries and For example, Stephen Wiltshire can certainly replicate
met with 51 savants and their families, completing the in stunning fashion what he sees as demonstrated in a
largest study performed on savants to date using recent documentary film clip, when, after a 45 min
uniform history taking and standardized psychological helicopter ride over Rome, he completed, in a three-day
testing. Forty-one savants carried a diagnosis of autism drawing marathon, an impeccably accurate drawing,
and the remainder some other type of intellectual on a five and half yard canvas. It captures with precision
disability: 12 were rated as prodigious savants; 20 were the many square miles he has seen street by street,
rated as talented; and the remaining 19 had splinter building by building and column by column.
skills. The savants in this series of cases had the A blueprint of the coliseum, superimposed on his
following elements in common: neurological impair- drawing, shows an astonishing accurate replication.
ment with idiosyncratic and divergent intellectual That clip can be seen at www.savantsyndrome.com.
ability; language and intellectual impairments consist- However, Stephen can also improvise in his drawings,
ent with autism; intense interest and preoccupation and he can also create scenes of his choosing. He has
with particular areas of ability; rule-based, rigid and several art books published, and now has his own art
highly structured skills lacking critical aspects of gallery in London, which displays his various drawing
creativity and cognitive flexibility; preserved neuro- styles (Wiltshire 1987, 1991).
logical capacity to process information relating to the There are other examples of this same replication to
particular skills; a well-developed declarative memory; improvisation to creation pattern that space prohibits
a family history of similar skills in some, but not describing here. However, they are documented in
all, cases but even in the absence of a history of a Extraordinary people and on the savant syndrome
specific skill, there was a familial predisposition website in detail.
towards high achievement; and a climate of support,
encouragement and reinforcement from families, case (h) No single theory can explain all savants
workers, teachers, caretakers and others. Since Down’s first description of savant syndrome,
numerous theories have been put forth to explain this
(g) Savant skills do not fade or disappear; rather astonishing juxtaposition of ability and disability in the
a pattern of replication to improvisation to same person. Space precludes outlining those here but
creation is often seen I do discuss them in detail in Extraordinary people. In
The case of Nadia, who lost her special art skills when the ‘How do they do it?’ chapter in that book, I outline
exposed to traditional schooling, raised the prospect of in detail as well my speculation, based on observation,
a ‘dreaded trade-off’ of savant skills for acquisition of imaging and neuropsychological studies of a number of
better language, communication and daily living skills savants, that one mechanism in some savants, whether
(Selfe 1978). But experience has shown that such loss congenital or acquired, is left brain dysfunction with
of special skills is the exception rather than the rule in right brain compensation, a form of ‘paradoxical
savant syndrome. Instead, with continued use, the functional facilitation’ as described by Kapur (1996).
special abilities either persist at the same level or Brink (1980) raised that possibility with a case in which
actually increase. left brain injury in a child gave rise to some mechanical
Now that I have had an opportunity to follow the and other savant skills. Miller’s recent work with
unfolding of savant abilities in some individuals for persons with fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) in
nearly 30 years, I have seen a pattern of progression of whom savant skills surfaced, sometimes at a prodigious

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009)

 The savant syndrome D. A. Treffert 1355

level, adds impetus to that speculation (Miller et al. ‘train the talents and diminish the disability’ through
1998, 2000). Those studies led him to conclude that the use of fine arts therapy including visual arts, music,
‘loss of function in the left anterior lobe may lead to dance, drama and storytelling.
facilitation of artistic or musical skills’. Hou et al. Dr Temple Grandin is well known as an inter-
(2000) stated it this way: ‘The anatomic substrate for national authority in her field of animal science. She is
the savant syndrome may involve loss of function in the also well known for her books including Thinking in
left temporal lobe with enhanced function of the pictures (1995) and Translating with animals (2005). She
posterior neocortex’. is also autistic. Another recent book, Developing talents:
Other current theories, including genetic, cognitive careers for individuals with Asperger syndrome and high-
and neural, will be explored in other contributions to functioning autism (Grandin & Duffy 2004), is an
this volume. excellent, practical resource for discovering, nurturing
and ‘training the talent’ so that many persons on the
autistic spectrum can enjoy the important experience of
4. ‘TRAINING THE TALENT’: SUCCESSFUL work and ‘the satisfaction of contributing to their
EDUCATIONAL APPROACHES families and their communities, of being independent
Aetiologic considerations aside, what is the best and economically self-sufficient’. This book outlines
approach to the savant and his or her special skills? methods of helping children ‘develop their natural
Phillips framed the controversy in 1930 when he stated: talents’ using ‘drawing, writing, building models,
‘The problem of treatment comes next.is it better to programming computers’ and similar skills to help
eliminate the defects or train the talent?’ Experience build a ‘portfolio’ of skills that can help in the search for
has provided a clear answer—‘train the talent’! And as a meaningful work experience.
one does so, some of the ‘defect’ subsides. The special The book helps persons on the autistic spectrum,
talent, in fact, becomes a conduit towards normal- and their family members, teachers, counsellors
ization, using the unique savant skills to achieve better and others to better understand and develop the
socialization, language acquisition and independence, career planning process for these special persons with
all without the trade-off or loss of special abilities for special skills.
those valuable gains in other areas of functioning.
The special skills can be used as a way of engaging
attention of the savant, and rather than seeing the 5. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
special abilities as frivolous, they can be used as a form No model of brain function, including memory, will be
of expression with the goal of channelling those abilities complete until it can account for, and fully incorporate,
more usefully. the rare but spectacular condition of savant syndrome.
Clark (2001) developed a savant skill curriculum In the past decade, particularly, much progress has
using a combination of successful strategies currently been made towards explaining this jarring juxtaposition
employed in the education of gifted children (enrich- of ability and disability, but many unanswered ques-
ment, acceleration and mentorship) and autism tions remain. However, interest in this fascinating
education (visual supports and social stories) in an condition is accelerating, especially since the discovery
attempt to channel and apply, usefully, the often non- of savant-type skills in previously unimpaired older
functional obsessive savant and splinter skills of a group persons with FTD and other acquired savant instances.
of students with autism. This special curriculum This finding has far-reaching implications regarding
proved highly successful in the functional application buried potential in some or, perhaps, all of us.
of savant skills and an overall reduction in the level of Advanced technologies will help in those investi-
autistic behaviours in many subjects. Improvements in gations. Computed tomography (CT ) and MRI
behaviour, social skills and academic self-efficacy were provide stunningly high-resolution images of all the
reported, along with gain in the communication skills brain architecture, surface and deep, permitting
of some subjects. detailed inspection of brain structure. However, studies
Donnelly & Altman (1994) noted that increasing of brain function, such as positron emission tomography
numbers of ‘gifted students with autism’ are now being (PET), single photon emission CT (SPECT) or
included in gifted and talented classrooms with non- functional MRI, are much more informative regarding
disabled gifted peers. Accompanying elements are an savant syndrome, and, indeed, autism itself, since these
adult mentor in the field of their talent, individual newer techniques provide information about the brain
counselling and small-group social skills training. at work, rather than simply viewing brain architecture.
Some specialized schools are emerging as well. An even more recent imaging technique is diffusion
For example, Soundscape Centre in Surrey, England tensor imaging, based on measuring water flow
began operating in 2003 as the only specialized within neurons, which provides graphic images of
educational facility in the world uniquely dedicated to brain connectivity between the brain hemispheres,
the needs and potential of persons with sight loss and within the brain hemispheres and between upper
special musical abilities, including musical savants. cortical and lower brain stem structures. A related
Orion Academy (www.orionacademy.org) in Moraga, technique, diffusion tensor tracking, provides a direct
California, USA specializes in providing a positive visual view of the actual fibre tracks, or wiring, of the
educational experience for high school students with brain in great detail.
Asperger’s syndrome. Hope University (www.hopeu. One of the drawbacks to savant functional imaging
com) in Anaheim, California is a fine arts facility for research, especially art and music performance skills,
adults with developmental disabilities. Its mission is to has been the necessary immobilization of the subject

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009)

1356 D. A. Treffert The savant syndrome

when doing the imaging. Near-infrared spectroscopy, of the idiot savant exists as a challenge to our
which measures haemoglobin, uses an infrared cap capabilities’ (Horwitz et al. 1965). But savant syndrome
which the patient can wear while ‘at work’ performing is less now a ‘landmark to our ignorance’ than 44 years
music or painting or drawing, for example. Also there ago. More progress has been made in the past 15 years
have been many advances in electroencephalographic in better understanding and explaining savant syn-
techniques, including magnetoencephalography, which drome than in the previous 100 years. Also, that
provides a great deal of additional information beyond important inquiry continues, with the prospect of
the usual electroencephalographic findings. propelling us along further than we have ever been in
Detailed, standardized neuropsychological test unravelling the mystery of these extraordinary people
results can then be correlated with the imaging findings and their remarkable abilities. Moreover, in that
in savants in sufficiently large samples to move away process, we can also learn more about ourselves,
from what have been so many single subject, anecdotal explore the ‘challenge to our capabilities’ and uncover
reports. Control groups of non-impaired persons can the hidden potential—the little Rain man—that resides,
be assembled to compare and contrast findings in both perhaps, within us all.
groups. Beyond that, since the interface between
genius, prodigies and savants is an important, and in
some ways a very narrow one, those persons should be
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