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Meet Jason. One blow to the head changed the way he sees the world. Click to read about our case studies.
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Could autism be a perceptual disorder? The Intense World Theory holds that the condition is the result of a hyperreactive brain’s attempt to limit perceptual input. Click to find out why it might be a key to the cure.
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Like to read? Our lab has contributed to many publications on synesthesia and savant syndrome. Click to read some of our papers.
Exploring the link between synesthesia, savant syndrome and autism may advance our understanding of cognitive talent and lead to a cure.
About Us
We are a group of researchers in Miami with collaborators in Denmark, Finland, Houston, London and Vancouver. Our research seeks to understand the connection between the three related neurological conditions of synesthesia, savant syndrome and autism. Synesthesia involves a mixing of the senses—stimulation in one sensory or cognitive stream involuntarily, or automatically, leads to associated internal or external (illusory or hallucinatory) experiences in a second unstimulated sensory or cognitive system. Savant syndrome is a condition whereby an individual gains abnormal skills limited to one particular domain. Autism is a disorder that involves deficits in social interaction and communication. Although an individual may have only one of these conditions, many savants are synesthetes and exhibit autistic traits. Likewise, savantism is highly prevalent among autists. We believe that exploring the link between synesthesia, savant syndrome and autism may advance our understanding of cognitive talent and lead to a cure.
Read MoreMost Recent Thoughts
April 13, 2013 |
When The Brain’s Biological Clock Goes Haywire
Patients suffering from psychological disorders are unable to properly coordinate events in time. They over- or underestimate time intervals ranging from several seconds to minutes. But what exactly gets messed up in the brain’s time keeping mechanisms in psychological disorders? read...
April 10, 2013 |
OCD, Tourette’s Syndrome and Addiction: A Real Distinction?
The scientific and philosophical literature considers compulsive and addictive disorders to be distinct. But this belief is based on an oversimplified interpretation of patient reports. It turns out that our present understanding of compulsive disorders may be mistaken. read...
April 4, 2013 |
Living An “Ordinary” Life With Extraordinary Abilities
A nurse, wife and Mother with synesthesia read...
March 17, 2013 |
The Brain Of The Real Rain Man
Like individuals with autism, people who are born without a corpus callosum, the main connection between the right and the left hemispheres of the brain, sometimes have remarkable memory abilities. New research offers insight into the extraordinary connections manifested by the brains of people born with this condition. read...