Brain Injury Can Lead To Savant Status

This post is in no way meant to make light of brain injuries, but it’s too fascinating to ignore.

A Times of India story documents a man with a brain injury from a brutal attack who has now become a math savant, seemingly out of the blue.

To understand how Padgett’s brain works, neuroscientist and philosophy professorBerit Brogaard and her team flew Padgett to Finland to run a series of tests.
His brain scanning showed damage that was forcing his brain to overcompensate in certain areas that most people do not have access to.
Brogaard, who is based at the Centre for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri-St Louis, said the result that Padgett is now an acquired savant, meaning brilliant in a specific area.
“Savant syndrome is the development of a particular skill, that can be mathematical, spatial , or autistic, that develop to an extreme degree that sort of makes a person superhuman,” the professor added.

This story illustrates how much we’re still learning about the brain and brain injuries. Tampa Bay brain injury lawyers, medical professionals and caregivers have a challenging job serving their clients’ best interests.