Auditory attraction: activation of visual cortex by music and sound in Williams syndrome.
In Williams syndrome, sounds can light up the visual cortex, so expect cross-modal side effects during auditory prompts.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team scanned four young adults with Williams syndrome.
They played music and other sounds while the adults lay in an fMRI.
The goal was to see which brain areas lit up.
What they found
Sounds made the visual cortex turn on.
This did not happen in typical brains.
The brain was hearing with its eyes.
How this fits with other research
Farmer-Dougan et al. (1999) first mapped the WS mind with pencil tests.
Jones et al. (2010) now show the same brain also wires sound to vision.
Amore et al. (2011) looked at face attention and found no extra pull, only slower let-go.
Together the trio says: WS perception is not super-strong, it is super-linked.
Ng et al. (2016) add that anxious WS adults actually calm to angry faces.
This seems opposite, but both studies measure unusual wiring, not excess emotion.
Why it matters
When you use music or sound prompts, watch for visual side effects.
A client may look distracted, yet the brain is still processing.
Pair auditory cues with visual tasks only if you want both systems busy.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Williams syndrome is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder with a distinctive phenotype, including cognitive-linguistic features, nonsocial anxiety, and a strong attraction to music. we preformed functional MRI studies examining brain responses to musical and other types of stimuli in young adults with Williams syndrome and typically developing controls. In Study 1, the Williams syndrome group exhibited unforeseen activations of the visual cortex to musical stimuli, and it was this novel finding that became the focus of two subsequent studies. Using retinotopy, color localizers, and additional sound conditions, we identified specific visual areas in subjects with Williams syndrome that were activated by both musical and nonmusical auditory stimuli. The results, similar to synthetic-like experiences, have implications for cross-modal sensory processing in typical and atypical neurodevelopment.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1352/1944-7588-115.172