Mental Abilities: Genius, Savant and Autism

1. Explain in detail what "savant syndrome" means.

This is a syndrome that developes a mental or physical disability and in rare cases it developes an exceptional talent in an individual. It is an incredible phenomena that lets scientist know that the capability of the brain is extraordinary.

http://www.psy.dmu.ac.uk/drhiles/Savant%20Syndrome.htm

http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/_SAVANT/_PROFILES/kim_peek/_media/images/kimpeek_salinashospital2.jpg

2.What does genius mean? Explain the difference between genius and savant.

Genius is an incredible intelligence that a human has possesion of, usually has a very high skill in certain fields.

http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/genius.htm

The main difference between a savant and a genius is that savants are handicap people that develope a dissability, unlike the genius that they don't develope any disability they just develope a high intelligence.3. What is a stroke and how could it affect your mental functioning?

A stroke is also called a brain attack, in this medical emergency there is a rupture in the arteries of the brain causing a disease in the circulatory system.

http://www.womensheart.org/content/stroke/what_is_a_stroke.asp

This affects your mental functioning because when these arteries are lost they lose abilities that are controlled by the brain such as movement, speech and memory. A minor stroke will just make your arms or legs weaker while a larger stroke can leave you paralyzed.

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=stroke

http://medicalimages.allrefer.com/large/stroke-series-4.jpg

4.What is a functional MRI and how does it help us understand brain activity?

It is a specialized MRI scan that measures the hemodynamic response, the change of blood flow and it scans the neural activity in the brain or spinal cords. This produces an image of the brain's metabolism of a human and even an animal

https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1273&bih=609&defl=en&q=define:Functional+MRI&sa=X&ei=XqtyTcDPOYHrgQfHkpk4&ved=0CBEQkAE

This helps us understand better the brain activity because it produces a scan of the blood flow in the brain. These scans generate maps of the human brain activity and tells us which parts of the brain are working the most during a certain activity.

http://www.pnas.org/content/89/12/5675.abstract

5. What is the corpus callosum and what role does it play

in your brain's activity?

The corpus callosum is a bundle of nerves that connects the left hemisphere of the brain to the right hemisphere of the brain.

https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1273&bih=609&defl=en&q=define:corpus+callosum&sa=X&ei=-q1yTcmlLZTfgQflnJXSAQ&ved=0CBQQkAE

Besides connecting both hemispheres an important role that the corpus callosum plays in the brain is facilitation of the interhemispheric communication and also allows both hemispheres to coordinate and communicate all their activities.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/corpus-callosum-function.html

http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~Brainmd1/brmodelc.gif

6. What is epilepsy and how might it affect your brain's abilities?

Epilepsy is a disorder in the central part of the nervous system that causes a loss of consciousness and convulsions

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=epilepsy&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h=0

An epilepsy could affect the brain by damaging any of the lobes. For example, if your temporal lobe is affected they your brain could suffer of memory problem, besides that if you've got epilepsy in your brain your ability concentration would be affected also.

http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/AboutEpilepsy/Epilepsyandyou/Universityandepilepsy/Howepilepsycanaffectlearning

7. What is autism?

Autism is a developmental disability that is caused by a brain abnormality, people with this will normally find it challenging to use their communicating skills, social skills and they will have repetitive type of behaviors.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/autism/

8. What is Asperger's Syndrome?

The Asperger's Syndrome is a psychiatric disorder (also called an autism spectrum disorder) that is normally appreciable at an early age; people with this syndrome will have impaired social relations and will have repetitive types of behavior.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:asperger%27s+syndrome&sa=X&ei=rtlyTfLMIomE0QHcppHFAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQkAE

Accidental Genius

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThsEOEHmxnuqlXwVz-D-4mvFAGjYn-153n7VL3De3g1TSXuQj1rCc4CkO0rUrV5OuhxpLdD_mZZnm_E994HMkz2iOgtj38rI7mgzVhQFCBuE4_MI01hPPj7xJXUoiCPbcIJsQDKXrM9gv/s400/Savants.jpg

Savants are people with great abilities. George is the first example in the video because he is able to recall every day of the year and makes great calculations; he even knows the populations for the states in the US. Unfortunately for him he has a great advantage but also had a great disadvantage, he wasn't able to socialize with others. George's accident occurred when he was young and stared at the rows and columns of a calendar in which he could recall the days of the next month and it was just natural for him. The difference between savants and genius is that savants are handicap, having a disability but a very high intelligence, unlike the genius that they don't have this disability. Kim Peek is another great example of a savant because he is able to memorize a book completely just after reading it and as George he can also name days of the calendar. Another case they relate to us is the case of Tommy because he had an accident because two of his arteries burst in his brain, but he was saved in a hospital. This accident revealed a compulsion towards art, something he had never done before. The case of these people has given scientists enough information to know that savants can be created from a brain injury or if they come from childhood diseases.

Make me a Genius

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGC/StaticFiles/Images/Show/37xx/374x/3740_make_me_a_genius-1_04700300.jpg

Susan Polgar, the queen of chess. Her case was very helpful to society because it lets us discover two things; genius can be made and that women are capable of doing things just as men are. Her father was capable of proving that women have also the intelligence to beat men when playing chess. He proved this by teaching her daughter techniques since she was a toddler; in such way that when she grew she would know multiple plays. This proves that her parents intervened in her genius because it was created. In the video they show us that men have a thicker cortex that helps them to have a spatial awareness, unlike women that their cortex colossal is thicker in their left side of the brain (this one lets them to solve the maze with directions). In the video they also recall the grandiose memory abilities of the waiter Vincente Santio. His memory works in the method of chunking in which he separates the parts little by little to remember from memory the orders he takes. Another case that is mentioned in the video is of Mary Ann Sieghart who suffers of face blindness. Mary finds difficult to recall a person that she sees daily because of her disease, but she does well in her editing.

Born Genius

http://captionwit.com/wp-content/caption/New_Beginnings_bpclz_r.jpg

It is incredible what people born with a genius can do. In the video they use as an example a child named Marc Yu that was born with an incredible ability to play the piano. This contributes with the theory that genius is born with because he just simply knew it when he was born. Fortunately, for Marc Yu his mom also pushes him to the best because she wants him to develop as best as possible. Even though Marc is just 8 years old he is studying with his mom subjects that an average kid would learn at the age of 14. As a musician Marc is able to read, feel, and hear music all at the same time. This is due to the cerebellum of Marc; every musician will have a better cerebellum than normal people because the cerebellum helps to speed up communication to play better. The video also recalls a case of a girl named Genie that was kept in a room for 13 years without being able to socialize, talk or to do any other thing. This exceptional case taught science that the brain uses a theory in which if you stop using a part of your brain you will lose it, better known as use it or lose it. Genie's case support the idea that genius is created because like she was never taught anything, then she couldn't walk, talk and lots of activities. Scientists have also proven that early education can help a kid's IQ later on. Is there a gene of genius? Hopefully scientists will be able to have an accurate answer of this question in an early future, but until now they cannot conclude anything.

Homosexuality

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Homosexuality_symbols.svg/800px-Homosexuality_symbols.svg.png

What makes humans gay? According to this video there is still no explanation for homosexual people because they do not no if they are made or if they were born with it. In the video they test twins called Jarred and Adam. Jarred seems to be very man like having action toys and military stuff, however his brother Adam is completely the opposite and has ponies and girl toys. What I learned from this video is that twins can be very useful when studying nature and nurture. This video also taught me that Adam will most probably be gay when he is fully developed and that the problem that he is confronting is called childhood gender nonconformity. In the video I found a lot of things very interesting like the fact that each time another brother is born in a family he is more prone to be gay than the first one. Another thing that appeared very interesting was the fact that gay people can be detected by their gestures because they have different gestures than those of their same gender. This video has formed a strong bias on my opinion. Now I think that homosexuality doesn't come with you, your environment creates it. Scientists are not going to be able to find any proof, even though they are still looking for it. After watching the both pair of twins I was fully convinced of my personal opinion because if they have the same genes how come one is gay and the other one is straight? There is only one answer for this, gay people are created.

Mind of a Murderer

http://www.halloweenmart.com/media/core/CC0926_AXE_MURDERER.jpg

Are criminals born or are they maid? After watching this video I am truly convinced that criminals are made and not born. The video explains that the most probable explanation for that type of behavior from an individual is an early brain damage. This taught me that when you are taking care of a baby, NEVER shake him or pat his head because a baby's head is very gentle and if it's not well treated the baby is prone to a frontal lobe damage which can lead to a criminal behavior when they get older. Another thing that I learned from the video is that criminal behavior can also by caused by depression, by jealousy resulting in vengeance or by the abuse of causing brain damage. In my opinion there should be a plan to prevent this problem because if the brain damage decreases then the criminal rate will decrease as well. Imagine if we would live in a safe world, with healthy people that don't think in killing or being a murderer. Something that I learn from the video and think that is very peculiar is author's case. He murdered lots of people, but it appears that when he was young he had a temporary paralyze due to an abuse from his parents. This builds up in the theory that criminals are made and not born, because if Arthur had not received this brain damage, then he would probably not be a murderer. Unfortunately for Arthur, he was found guilty and was taken to prison for killing people unnecessarily, but after so much days of prison he is close to his relief of debt. Finally, in my opinion I am convinced that criminals are made, that brain damage is one of the primary causes of the creation of a criminal and that other emotions may cause you to interact in a violent manner.

Traumatic Brain Injury

http://www.csmfoundation.org/football__2_.jpg

Traumatic brain injuries are very painful and are the ones that people would most likely try to avoid. As shown in the video of Living with Traumatic Brain Injury you are very prone to the loose of skills (walking, playing, talking,), problems with the vision, a paralysis and problems to utter words. But even though those can be some of the problems, the most common ones are thinking and behavior problems. Many people change their way of being after being traumatized by a brain injury and they most commonly change the way in which they conduct themselves. I feel very proud for all of the four that have managed to overcome these accidents that they have encountered, but the one that I feel more proud of is Bryan because even though he is partially paralyzed, he has his family and loves them. This is a perfect example for other people because some people could commit suicide after passing through this injury. It would be very interesting to visit support groups to learn various unique cases of people that suffer this. Traumatic brain injuries often happen when force is applied to the skull, as in American Football when accidents occur and a player finishes with a concussion. Finally, if you are able to prevent this PREVENT IT because you would not like to experience this type of injury.

Reading Your Mind

http://th05.deviantart.net/fs28/300W/i/2008/082/e/a/if_only_i_could_read_your_mind_by_superladysarah.jpg

Could you imagine reading the mind of your friends or any other person? Scientists have managed to get close to the mind reading by the MRIs. They have watched the brain action of an individual and have showed them different pictures, in this way they will know the activity in the brain for certain objects. After the scan the computer appeared to show one-hundred percent of efficiency. But the question of mind reading is still in the air because no scientists need to discover how to read what are they thinking of, without previously watching any brain activity. This is a very big challenge that still seems to be science fiction, but It would be fairly interesting that scientists will manage to solve this problem. If they do so this will be very useful in every trial because instead of debating at the court, they could just read the mind of the guilty and observe weather or not he is lying. Imagine all that people that have been sent to prison without being guilty, if that is true, it would be now much more easier for everyone to solve those problems. Finally, I believe that this mind reading should be used just in trials, but not daily because I don't think that anyone would like to be mind read at every time, even if they are thinking something good from someone.