Man, 40, suffers concussion after diving into shallow pool... and wakes up a musical genius (despite never having a lesson in his life)



A man who suffered concussion after diving into a shallow pool has made a seemingly improbable discovery: it made him a musical genius.

Derek Amato, from Denver, Colorado, is just one of 30 people in the entire world suffering from Acquired Savant Syndrome, where people display profound abilities after suffering head trauma.

After years of failed jobs and homelessness, the 40-year-old is now enjoying a career in music and can play eight instruments - despite never having a lesson in his life.

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Genius: Derek Amato suffered concussion after diving into a shallow pool. He was later drawn to a friend's piano and immediately began playing. He now works as a musician

Famous fan: Matt Lauer quizzed Amato about his bizarre experiences on the Today Show

He has now recounted the startling moment he felt drawn to a friend's piano after the October 2006 accident and immediately began playing.

'It was one of those moments when you just knew,' he told Matt Lauer on the Today show. 'It was just drawing me to it.'

Amato, who can not read music, explained that he knew what to play as he could see black and white squares in his head that triggered his fingers to move.

'That's my notation,' he said. 'When those black and white squares are going, that's what my hands do. I'm convinced it's all for a reason and it's my job to do it right.'



Talent: Amato, who had never had a piano lesson before the accident, was diagnosed with Acquired Savant Syndrome, where a person develops amazing abilities after a head trauma

Life in black and white: Amato said black and white squares flash through his head and tell him where his fingers need to move across the piano



Performance: Amato cannot read music but said images in his head tell him how to play

Amato, who is recording his second album, plays eight instruments he could not play before, as well as brushing up on his guitar skills, which he described as being a '2.5 out of 10' before the accident.

In October 2006, he was partying with friends when he jumped into the pool and hit his head. 'I remember the panic set in that I knew I hurt myself,' he said. 'I knew it was something bad.'

In a post for the Wisconsin Medical Society, he added: 'As I dove into the swimming pool, I remember coming up out of the water complaining that my ears were bleeding.'

'As I looked to my friends for explanation, I recall their lips moving but without sound. As I touched my ears to check for bleeding, I realised there was no blood, and I couldn't hear anything at all.'

Showman: Despite his new musical talents, Amato lost 35 per cent of his hearing in the accident

Concert: His abilities are allowing him a career in music after a string of failed jobs and homelessness

New life: Amato now works as a musician and is now recording his second album

After collapsing, Amato was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a serious concussion. Doctors also found he had a permanent 35 per cent loss of hearing, as well as memory loss.

ACQUIRED SAVANT SYNDROME

Amato is one of a handful of people around the world who have suffered a brain injury or head trauma and later woke up with amazing musical, artistic or mathematical abilities. While research into the cause is ongoing, there is no single theory explaining all savants.

Many researchers believe the underlying cause of savant syndrome occurs when the right brain compensates for an injury on the left brain. It is extremely rare for a savant to lose their skills after they have acquired them.

But, Amato told the Today show, this is a small price to pay for what he can do now. 'The headaches and the loss of hearing are the price tag for this gift,' he said. 'I'd like it to stay.'

It comes as a godsend for the father who had worked a string of jobs - from public relations, karate teaching, sales and baseball coaching - without ever knowing what he wanted to do.

In 2002, he became homeless after losing everything on a business investment, he wrote on his blog. 'I was sleeping in my car at rest stops for 3 months while looking for a job,' he wrote.

He got back on his feet after finding a job with the U.S. postal service before the accident.



He added on his blog: 'Upon being diagnosed with acquired musical savant syndrome and Synesteshia, this condition and miraculous discovery would now make me one in seven billion, and the only medically documented case of this particular nature on the planet!'

Genius: Amato, with his daughter, only played guitar before the accident but now plays eight instruments

Medical opinion: Dr Andrews Reeves, who examined Amato, said he had a rare form of the syndrome

Dr Andrew Reeves, who examined him, said the accident had altered his brain.

'The kind of acquired savant syndrom he has is first off quite rare and secondly very unique in the sense of music, visual and motor abilities,' he told NBC.

Savantism expert Darold Treffert, M.D. defines the condition as 'previously non-disabled persons who after some injury or disease begin to demonstrate some, until then, dormant savant characteristics and capacities'.

He notes cases where people began showing artistic, musical or mathematical abilities after an accident.

Another example is Alonzo Clemes, whose verbal and cognitive abilities stopped developing at the age of three due to a head injury, but who could put together animal sculptures in minutes.



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