Artistic Ability Gained After Brain Injury
Several years ago I was lucky enough to meet and become friends with an enigmatic man named Robert. We were introduced by a mutual acquaintance named Bill. After meeting Rob, he amazed me with his talented guitar playing. He impressed me further when he handed me a CD on which he had recorded several songs written and performed by himself. On this disc Rob played all the musical instruments: guitar, bass guitar, drums, piano, synthesizer, et cetera. He had written the vocals and sang them, as well as mixed, edited and ultimately produced the recordings, in its entirety, alone.
Robert’s ability to play all the instruments was impressive, as well as his understanding of the recording and editing process. Rob’s musical inclination however was not the most extraordinary thing I remember about him. What I remember most is when our mutual acquaintance, Bill, stated before age 17, Rob had never expressed any interest in music, let alone played an instrument.
Prior to age 17, Rob was a sports fanatic. He was a clean-cut football player and his idea of getting wild was not stretching before his daily 5 mile runs. At age 17 Rob fell from the roof of his mother’s van the concrete drive-way, striking his head and losing consciousness. After a trip to the hospital he returned home with a diagnosis of a concussion.
Immediately after this injury, Bill described how Rob’s personality changed. He became more daring, more outgoing, and more creative. He dropped out of sports, stopped cutting his hair, and picked up a guitar. On the negative side, Rob also became rebellious, defiant of authority and picked up a heavy drug habit. I only met Rob following his injury, the talented but troubled musician. Rob’s fall appeared to have awakened parts of his brain that were dormant or inactive before.
There is a term “acquired savant syndrome”, that I believe applies to what happened to my old friend Rob. Here are two recent stories that discuss this phenomenon: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/teenager-credits-musical-talent-head-injury/story?id=20980180 and http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/when-brain-damage-unlocks-genius-within. This article, https://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/professional/savant-syndrome/resources/articles/the-acquired-savant/ also delves further into this sudden development of talents.
The theory behind acquired savant syndrome is that an injury to the anterior temporal orbitofrontal cortex may cause decreased inhibition of visual systems involved with perception and in turn this enhances the person’s ability and interest in creative pursuits. (The “Acquired” Savant, Darold A. Treffert, MD) Some people with head injuries, like Lachlan Connors, (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/teenager-credits-musical-talent-head-injury/story?id=20980180) appear to develop an uncanny ability to decipher, interpret and create music-without any prior knowledge or previously demonstrated talent. Per Lachlan’s mother, “He can pick up an instrument and within five minutes, he’s playing it.”
This website, http://www.daroldtreffert.com/, contains the collection of Dr. Treffert’s life-long research into the topic of acquired savant syndrome. It has many articles regarding this subject if one would desire to learn more about it.
Even more fascinating is that it may be possible one day for any individual to develop these abilities at will. The article at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201001/conversations-creativity-allan-snyder describes how researchers used transcranial magnetic stimulation to change the activity of the brain cortex in volunteers and this temporarily granted normal people with savant-like skills. Some of these volunteers experienced savant behaviors that lasted a few hours. The possibilities for future applications are endless. In the near future when the teacher says, “Put your thinking caps on,” it might be a literal command instead of just a figure of speech!
Sources:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201001/conversations-creativity-allan-snyder
http://www.daroldtreffert.com/
https://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/professional/savant-syndrome/resources/articles/the-acquired-savant/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/teenager-credits-musical-talent-head-injury/story?id=20980180 http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-02/when-brain-damage-unlocks-genius-within