Mental Abilities: Genius, Savant and Autism

1.Explain in detail what "savant syndrome" means.
-Savants are people who despite serious mental or physical disability have quite remarkable, and sometimes spectacular, talents. This is an exceedingly rare phenomena, although there are several well documented cases.( http://www.psy.dmu.ac.uk/drhiles/Savant%20Syndrome.htm)

2. What does genius mean? Explain the difference between genius and savant.
-someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality; brilliance: unusual mental ability, ace: someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field exceptional creative ability, a natural talent(wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn) the differences with savants and geniuses is that savants have a special ability but also has a disability or disorder while geniuses do not carry with their talents a disability in another area.

3. What is a stroke and how could it affect your mental functioning?
-Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke. The more common kind, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stroke.html ) Strokes can disabilities the affected area in the brain or the area that is not receiving oxygen. If a serious stroke it can lead to death.

4. What is a functional MRI and how does it help us understand brain activity?
-Functional MRI (fMRI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based neuroimaging technique which allows us to detect the brain areas which are involved in a task, a process or an emotion.( http://www.imagilys.com/functional-MRI-fMRI/)

5. What is the corpus callosum and what role does it play in your brain's activity?
- The corpus callosum is a huge bundle of nerve fibers found in mammalian brains. It connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and is responsible for most of the communication between the two. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-corpus-callosum.htm). This is responsible for the working together of the two hemispheres which allows you to perform task that require multiple functions.

6. What is epilepsy and how might it affect your brain's abilities?
- Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes people to have recurring seizures. The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals. People may have strange sensations and emotions or behave strangely. They may have violent muscle spasms or lose consciousness. Epilepsy has many possible causes, including illness, brain injury and abnormal brain development. In many cases, the cause is unknown.( http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/epilepsy.html)

7. What is autism?
-Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism)

8. What is Asperger's Syndrome?
- Asperger syndrome or Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder is an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome)