MUSICAL ABILITIES IN INDIVIDUALS WITH WILLIAMS-SYNDROME

We report evidence for relatively preserved musical rhythm processing in individuals with Williams syndrome, supporting the theory that musi cal ability constitutes an independent intelligence. Williams syndrome occurs in 1 out of 20,000 births and is associated with a defect in e lastin production, impaired cognitive function, and poor spatial, quan titative, and reasoning abilities, coupled with excellent face process ing and relatively strong language abilities in adolescents and adults . Previously, informal qualitative observations have revealed an unusu al degree of musicality and engagement with musical stimuli in many in dividuals with Williams syndrome. In the present study, rhythm product ion was assessed for eight subjects with Williams syndrome and eight s ubjects in a comparison group by using an echo clapping task. Despite serious deficits in other cognitive domains and generally poor coordin ation, the subjects with Williams syndrome achieved accuracy scores eq uivalent to those of subjects in the comparison group and demonstrated equivalent abilities in meter change and beat maintenance. Most inter estingly, when the subjects with Williams syndrome made errors in rhyt hm production, their errors were far more likely than comparison subje cts' errors to form rhythmically compatible musical elaborations to th e test items; that is, responses of subjects with Williams syndrome, w hen incorrect, tended to be creative extensions of the reference rhyth m.