1. THE BRAIN AND THE ART

2. Artists with Brain Damage In recent years, neurologists have observed several intriguing cases of artists with progressive brain damage or dealing with the aftereffects of strokes.

4. Memory, Movement

5. Behavior, Hearing

6. Memory, Speech, Vision

7. Intelligence, Language

8. Reading, Sensation

12. After she had a large tumor removed from her brain's left temporal lobe, she found herself struggling with words (language and communication). Reading became difficult. She couldn't follow plots or instructions. But the surgery had another, surprising effect: It seemingly “ACTIVATED" her right brain, spurring an intense interest in art. Sandy Allen She told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that before her surgery, she "couldn't even draw a stick figure." Now she might spent two hours a day creating art, focusing on collages

13. Michelangelo Had Autism? Some European autism researchers believe that famed Renaissance artist Michelangelo may have had Asperger's syndrome, a form of "high-functioning autism" (source: ABC Science Online).

14. Savant Syndrome and Art Many autistics have difficulty engaging with the world but find comfort in repeating certain tasks, such as drawing. With the existence of acquired savant syndrome, some scientists speculate that all humans have the potential for savant abilities but that savants are somehow able to harness them, likely owing to how their brains have been “rewired”

15. Stephen Wiltshire As a child he was mute, and did not relate to other people. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language and lived entirely in his own world. An autistic savant nicknamed "the human camera," can paint uncannily detailed vistas from memory. He also has perfect pitch -- perhaps the only savant with extraordinary talents in two fields.

17. What are you thinking as this ball comes toward you?

18. In a savant's thinking: The focus is on hard data, rather than the general conclusions drawn from them. So instead of thinking about catching a ball, he/she might think about precise aspects of a ball's flight.

19. THANK YOU.