The Disordered Mind: What Unusual Brains Tell Us About Ourselves

by Eric R. Kandel

Matthew State, now at the University of California, San Francisco, has found that having an extra copy of one segment of chromosome 7 puts people at much greater risk of developing a disorder on the autism spectrum. When that same brain region is lost, however, the result is Williams syndrome.15 Williams syndrome is virtually the reverse of autism. Children with this genetic disorder are extremely social (fig. 2.9). They have a strong, almost irrepressible desire to speak and communicate. They are very friendly and trusting, even of strangers. Moreover, whereas some children with autism have strong drawing skills, children with Williams syndrome tend to be musical. In fact, children with Williams syndrome have difficulty constructing visuospatial relationships, which may account for their inability to draw well.