BOTTLE, TULIP AND WINEGLASS - SEMANTIC AND STRUCTURAL PICTURE-PROCESSING BY SAVANT ARTISTS

Semantic and structural aspects of picture processing were investigate d with graphically gifted mentally handicapped subjects and intellectu ally normal children. The results suggest that savants as well as cont rols rely primarily on semantically organised memory schemata when rep roducing pictures. A semantically determined strategy also determines picture sorting. The findings indicate that within the domain of exper tise there appears to be no difference between savants and normals reg arding the nature of the mental structures underlying specific talents . The mental structures on which such talents are based, should theref ore be regarded as being relatively independent of the level of genera l cognitive functioning.