Idiot Savants + Neuroscience + LTP

[Bio-Hazard]

I was reading about the neural development in scientific american today along with some brain abnormalities of idiot savants, but I didn't really care too much about those since the brain has plasticity.

 

Now what really is getting me going is that I want to know how the long-term potentiation in these people works. Supposedly LTP keeps memories active until defeated by LTD (long term depression) In my idea, these people actually have a greater ability to keep up LTP than we do. There must also be some interesting features that refer to the occipital lobe along with the hippocampus.

 

I'm sure that their vision cognition is very different.

Why isn't there more information on this?

I tried google but to no avail I failed my internet searching abilities on this concept.

 

Possibly we haven't been able to get ahold of them and actually disect them, or the technology isn't there?

[infamous]

I was reading about the neural development in scientific american today along with some brain abnormalities of idiot savants, but I didn't really care too much about those since the brain has plasticity.

 

Now what really is getting me going is that I want to know how the long-term potentiation in these people works. Supposedly LTP keeps memories active until defeated by LTD (long term depression) In my idea, these people actually have a greater ability to keep up LTP than we do. There must also be some interesting features that refer to the occipital lobe along with the hippocampus.

 

I'm sure that their vision cognition is very different.

Why isn't there more information on this?

I tried google but to no avail I failed my internet searching abilities on this concept.

 

Possibly we haven't been able to get ahold of them and actually disect them, or the technology isn't there?

This is an interesting query Bio-Hazard. This brings to mind the movie 'Rain Man' starring Dustin Hoffman as a Idiot Savant with the ability to remember in great detail the cards delt in games of chance. There are many cases where these abilities are demonstrated with a superior ability in mathematical calculations. I'm not versed in the Neurosciences so I'm not in a position to add very much to this discussion. This topic is however very interesting and I'll be keeping track of the following posts which I'm sure will be forthcoming, In the mean time, I'll do a little searching thru google myself and see if I can discover any links to this topic......................Infy

[infamous]

I just foud this link that you may have an interest in:

 

http://www.mysteries-megasite.com/main/bigsearch/savants.html

 

I believe you may find some of the information your looking for at this site............enjoy.

[Turtle]

Possibly we haven't been able to get ahold of them and actually disect them, or the technology isn't there?

___Disect as in chop up a brain or as in understand by use of MRI or something on a living person? They tell me I have Aspergers, a pretty euphemism for idiot savant. This is where to 'get ahold' of me unreliably. The information out on the web is overwhelming & less than hopeful to say the least.

___I wonder what herb the Swami prescribes? :shrug:

[Bio-Hazard]

___Disect as in chop up a brain or as in understand by use of MRI or something on a living person? They tell me I have Aspergers, a pretty euphemism for idiot savant. This is where to 'get ahold' of me unreliably. The information out on the web is overwhelming & less than hopeful to say the least.

___I wonder what herb the Swami prescribes? :shrug:

 

Took me a third time understand your witty comments. Nootropes you speak of? No interest in nootropes of this moment. It would be interesting for them to actually discet a living person, or perhaps find a special way of researching their brain after they die.

[HydrogenBond]

The way I look at it consciousness has conscious and unconscious components. The ego or consciousness uses less of the brain than the unconscious mind. We often define idiot by the relative power of the ego and conscious mind. The idiot savant has less willful control over ego consciousness but is able to utilize some of the capability of the unconscious mind for particular tasks.

[Turtle]

Took me a third time understand your witty comments. Nootropes you speak of? No interest in nootropes of this moment. It would be interesting for them to actually discet a living person, or perhaps find a special way of researching their brain after they die.

___What is 'nootropes'?

I was reading about the neural development in scientific american today along with some brain abnormalities of idiot savants, but I didn't really care too much about those since the brain has plasticity.

___I think you dismiss this too quickly. What 'abnormalities' did Scientific American mention? My general sense is that this is 'hard-wired' phenomenon. For instance, you might wire a series of electric lights & use either a series or a parallel circuit. Both provide light, but both have advantages & disadvantages, maybe similar to HydrogenBonds 'consciousness has conscious and unconscious components.'

___Now so I don't run on, I'll just ask what you hope to accomplish with your research? Healing/preventing autistic savants? Using them like specialised machines? Applying principles or organization in their brains to algorithms? :shrug:

 

PS This Hypography article C1ay posted seems germain to this discussion:

http://hypography.com/forums/medical-science-news/4522-first-evidence-a-living-memory-trace.html

[Bio-Hazard]

1. Nootropes also known as nootropics are "smart drugs" that enhance cogntive learning.

 

2. You already know the reason.

It's simply to understand what allows them to remember something complex for 40 years, which most regular people can't do.

[questor]

human brain research is in its early stages because very few volunteer

for reseach. idiot savants obviously have superior neural connectivity in a few areas of the brain while the wiring is deficient in most others. savants are usually abnormally well connected in the mathematical areas, including

music, while lacking in right brain skills. it will be a long time before we understand this phenomenon because we don't yet know how the brain functions on the atomic level, much less how thought itself is created.