Why Are So Many Musical Geniuses Asocial? A New Study Reveals an Interesting Link
Musical savants have “enhanced pitch discrimination” and “increased auditory perceptual capacity.” But why?
13 May, 2017
Do those with autism experience music as a richer experience? Getty Images.
We often see in the media autistic savants who can write and play music like grand masters with incredible talent and flourish. In fact, of autistic savants and savants in general, having extraordinary musical talent is one of the most common advantages. A new study published in the journal Cognition, suggests a reason for it. Those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have superior hearing.
<p>Some of the advantages include “enhanced pitch discrimination” and “increased auditory perceptual capacity.” Even so, ASD people often find normal, neutral sounds grating. This may be because their auditory system takes in more sound than neurotypical people. Said differently, they have a higher capacity.</p> <p>Investigators conducted two behavioral experiments to discover these differences in auditory perception and how it led to certain advantages and challenges for those with ASD. Anna Remington and Jake Fairnie were the two researchers who conducted the study. They hail from the Centre for Research in Autism and Education, at the UCL Institute of Education, in the UK.</p> <p>The study participants were 20 young adults with ASD and 20 neurotypical young adults, all between the ages of 17 and 34. They each participated in two computer-based tests. In the first, an audio file with a bunch of animal sounds was played and the listener had to determine if they heard a dog barking or a lion roaring within the jumble. Those with better auditory perception would have an advantage in this task. Participants with autism ended up scoring much higher than those in the control group, Remington and Fairnie found.</p> <p>In the second task, participants listened to a recording of people at a party. They overheard a conversation and had to answer questions about it at the end. To rankle autistic participants, a portion of the recording had a man come in and say repeatedly <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-people-autism-mostwhich-strength.html" target="_blank" title="Medical Xpress">“I’m a gorilla, I’m a gorilla...”</a> 47% of those with ASD were thrown off by this, compared to only 12% of the typical group. So it seems that increased perception has advantages and disadvantages.</p> <p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODMzOTQzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjAyNjU3NH0.RSL11aXZ4SGRr4_D7yVhgaaQuVb7YOdV4M9R80_erTo/img.jpg?width=980" id="31744" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c23a85c7be7f3d71c2b4dcd09db3db2d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <p><em>The disadvantage is seemingly innocuous sounds can be very irritating to those with ASD. Getty Images. </em></p> <p>Originally, we thought that those with autism didn’t like innocuous sounds, merely because they had difficulty filtering them out. Now we know: it’s because they process auditory information differently and such sounds overload their circuits, so to speak.</p> <p>This information might help us develop better strategies to cater to their needs. It can also help children with ASD learn and cope with difficulties better in and out of the classroom. In addition, this discovery could also help experts tailor interventions for those with ASD who find themselves struggling in certain environments or situations. </p> <p>In recent years, we’ve noticed that sensory information is processed differently in those who are autistic. But this isn’t in actuality a disadvantage. In fact, many people with ASD can perform visual or auditory tasks far better than neurotypical people can.</p> <p>To hear a leading emerging theory on what might cause autism, click here: </p> <p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5033d8c85b26f8e99be1c0ed4ba71374"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hczbp0-v4kI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span></p>
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The Surprising Symmetry of Brains on the Autism Spectrum
MRI study finds brains of ASD subjects are more symmetrical than typical brains, which makes sense.
07 December, 2016
(NARCISSE)
<p class="p1">Though neurologists have debunked the old conventional wisdom that the human brain is cleanly divided into a right side for creativity and left for analytical thinking, it's still the case that the two sides have their specialties. In most people the right hemisphere is denser with connections, but a new study of children and adolescents on the autism spectrum (ASD) suggests that the connections in their brains are more evenly distributed across the hemispheres than in others'.</p> <p class="p1 shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODQwOTEyMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTU4ODIwN30.BQRQ_K2OQYQbsJX9A_W_wvNZCcCGykzyTOfK9AKG_WI/img.jpg?width=980" id="39471" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b1660fa020be24c32ae95e9404c862f5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <div class="image-caption">(WALLYBIRD)</div> <p class="p1">Language processing and speech are primarily handled in the left hemisphere of the brain, which also concerns itself with the processing of fine details. The right, on the other hand, works to integrate these details with other factors, including sensory input, and it's also where auditory and visual sensory stimuli are processed. It's assumed that the right hemisphere's task of processing information from both hemispheres is the reason it has more connections than the left in the typical brain.</p> <p class="p1">Neuropsychologists at San Diego State University's <a href="http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/~amueller/web/BDIL.html">Brain Development Imaging Lab</a> used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2041910/">diffusion tensor imaging</a> to study the brains of 85 participants: 41 with ASD and 44 without. The were interested in seeing the density of brain connections throughout the brain's white matter. The results were published in the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856716317373"><em>Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry</em> December issue</a>.</p> <p class="p1">In typical developing brains, the scans did show that the right hemisphere had more densely-packed connections. “This fits with the idea that the right hemisphere has a more integrative function, bringing together many kinds of information," the study notes.</p> <p class="p1">On the other hand, connections were more evenly distributed across the hemispheres of ASD brains. According to <a href="http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu/people/ralph-axel-mueller/">Ralph-Axel Müller</a>, one of the study's authors, “<a href="http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=76468">The idea behind asymmetry in the brain</a> is that there is a division of labor between the two hemispheres. It appears this division of labor is reduced in people with autism spectrum disorder." The study's other authors are <a href="http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/bdil/web/team/Entries/2013/3/1_RUTH_CARPER,_Ph.D._-_RESEARCH_SCIENTIST.html">Ruth Carper</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeffrey_Treiber">Jeffrey Treiber</a>.</p> <p class="p1">In people with ASD, it may be that the hemispheres are less specialized. While more study is needed, it seems like this fits with autistic people's enhanced skill with details and trouble with integrating these details into a larger picture, referred to as “weak central coherence" in the study.</p> <p class="p1">One of the unresolved questions that will require further study is this: Is the symmetricality of ASD brains the cause of being on the spectrum or the result of autism?</p>
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