Gregory Hickok
Ursula Bellugi
Wendy Jones
Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
10010 North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
From: Science, 1995, Volume 270 (5234): pages
219-220
Oliver Sacks
(5 May 1995, p. 621) suggests that the development of
exceptional musical abilities in individuals with
neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and William
syndrome constitutes a "savant" talent and as such might
represent a "neuromodule." He speculates that the
exaggerated leftward asymmetry of the planum temporale area
of the brain recently reported in a group of professional
musicians by Gottfried Schlaug et al. (Reports, 3 Feb., p.
699) may reflect the neuromorphological substrate of such a
neuromodule.
In fact, we have already carried out analyses of the
planum temporale in individuals with Williams syndrome. The
surface area of the left and right planum temporale of four
subjects was measured with magnetic resonance images (MRI)
using the same anatomical criteria employed by Schlaug et
al. The planum temporale asymmetry for these individuals
with Williams syndrome was on par with that of the group of
musicians studied by Schlaug et al. (mean, -0.34; standard
deviation, 0.14). Three of the four individuals with
Williams syndrome had greater asymmetry than that of the
musicians, but less than that of musicians with perfect
pitch. In contrast, five normal control subjects had an
asymmetry coefficient that was consistent with the
nonmusician control group in the study by Schlaug et al.
study (mean, -0.23, standard deviation, 0.24). In addition,
subjects with Williams syndrome did not differ from normal
subjects in planum temporale surface area (1000.8 versus
962.1 square millimeters, respectively), despite
significant overall reduction of cerebral volume reported
in subjects with Williams syndrome (1), suggesting
disproportionate growth of the entire posterior
supratemporal region.
These preliminary data suggest that disproportionate
growth, and perhaps exaggerated asymmetry, occur in the
posterior supratemporal region in individuals with Williams
syndrome. However, establishing whether this asymmetry is a
source of musical ability will have to await more detailed
analyses. Also, the fact that individuals with Williams
syndrome typically possess exceptional language abilities
relative to other cognitive domains and despite mental
retardation (2) introduces the possibility that planum
temporale asymmetry is related to linguistic abilities
rather than, or as well as, musical abilities.
References
T. L. Jernigan, U. Bellugi, E. Sowell, S. Doherty, J.
Hesselink,
Archives of Neurology, 50, 186-191 (1993).
U. Bellugi, P. P. Wang, T. L. Jernigan, in Atypical
cognitive deficits in developmental disorders: Implications
for brain function, S. H. Broman, J. Grafman, Eds. (LEA,
Hillsdale, N.J.,
1994).
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