Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:563-572
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome
DA Treffert
Fond du Lac County Health Care Center, WI 54935.
Since it was first described a century ago, the phenomenon of the idiot
savant--the juxtaposition of severe mental handicap and prodigious mental
ability--has remained unexplained. The author defines the condition,
reviews and summarizes the world literature on this topic since the early
reports, describes more recent cases, and catalogs and categorizes idiot
savant abilities. Theories to explain the condition are reviewed, newer
research findings are highlighted, and the far- reaching implications of
the idiot savant syndrome for understanding normal brain function,
particularly memory, are outlined.
