Savant syndrome is a rare condition wherein an individual with a neurodevelopmental disorder displays incredible talent in a specific area. Though first mentioned in the late 1700s, the condition only became widely known with the release of the movie Rain Man (1988).
Individuals with savant syndrome typically show exceptional creativity and memory in their areas of expertise but otherwise possess less-than-normal intelligence or severely limited emotional range. For example, someone with this condition may perform rapid mental math of massive sums, play complicated musical compositions after hearing them only once, or repair complex mechanisms without training.
Savant syndrome may be congenital or acquired later in life after a traumatic brain injury in the left anterior temporal lobe. While savant syndrome is often associated with autism, only 10 percent of people with autistic disorder have savant abilities. In addition, less than 1 percent of non-autistic people display the condition. The theory for why this condition may show up after severe head trauma is that the brain’s right hemisphere is compensating for the injured left hemisphere.
The cognitive theory proposes that deficits in executive function, abstract thinking, and highly developed procedural memory may lead to savant syndrome. On the other hand, the modularity of mind hypothesis suggests that disruptions in behavioral functions can lead to a reorganization of the mind, resulting in savant syndrome.