一名年輕女子滑雪發生意外後， 突然對到過的地點和建築的所有細節擁有過目不忘的能力， 她被醫生診斷為 「後天性學者症候群」 （acquired savant syndrome），此罕見病例全球已知只有50例。
化名為「 珍」（xoJane）的這名女子撰文指出，大學放寒假時，她和家人去滑雪，下坡半途，她以高速滑出斜坡邊緣，飛至半空，跌落地上即不省人事。不久醒來，她沒任何頭昏嘔吐症狀，只感到頭痛和肩部劇痛，隔幾天才發現嚴重脫臼和鎖骨斷裂。
但此意外後的數周，她的視力、認知能力和對事物的記憶，開始發生劇烈改變。她說：「我開始意識到看到的和腦內運轉的毫不相干，我還能夠記得所有我曾到過的地點，就像翻閱書本的每一頁，尤其對建築的記憶特別深刻。」
她坦承，曾有數周試圖漠視這些症狀，但是每天起床的偏頭痛令她疼痛難忍。她求診後，醫生對她的症狀很困惑，很快地她即成為神經專家研究的對象。她說，她不但能非比尋常地準確記得所有曾到之處的細節，而且能把她看過或到過的建築以完美的圖解繪出。
歷經一年多、數百次檢驗後，她被確診有「後天性學者症候群」，雖然目前全球已知有50個這種病例，但對此症起因卻了解有限。一名英國婦女跌下樓梯後，突然具有藝術才能；丹佛一名音盲青少年賽球跌倒後，卻變成音樂天才。
許多有此症的人，運用天上掉下來的天賦，發揮所長，但珍說，她大學所學與藝術、建築沾不到一點邊，所以還沒有享受到新天賦的好處，目前她做的只是一般的文書工作。不過她說或許有一天會改變。她說：「我一直考慮辭職，轉到繪圖、設計領域，因為我清楚自己有這方面的本事。」
Jason Padgett 在酒吧嚴重受襲之後，卻變成幾何數學天才。
In 2002, two men savagely attacked Jason Padgett outside a karaoke bar, leaving him with a severe concussion and post- traumatic stress disorder. But the incident also turned Padgett into a mathematical genius who sees the world through the lens of geometry.
Padgett, a furniture salesman from Tacoma, Washington, who had very little interest in academics, developed the ability to visualize complex mathematical objects and physics concepts intuitively. The injury, while devastating, seems to have unlocked part of his brain that makes everything in his world appear to have a mathematical structure.
Sandy Allen 腦部手術後，竟然從理工轉成藝術天才。
Some of the most striking examples of acquired savant syndrome occur when a person switches their leanings entirely, from science to art, for instance. As with Dr Anne Adams, Sandy Allen's taste had always been science, utilizing the left side of the brain, believed to govern logical processes. So inclined, she enrolled at medical school at the age of 40.
However, within three years, Allen received life-changing news: there was a malignant tumor in her left temporal lobe that required surgery. This was not a degenerative disorder, but, in operating, doctors were forced to remove part of the left side of her brain. It was as if, as Allen described the situation, “it turned on the right side of my brain.” Allen suddenly found herself prolifically creating collages and surrounding herself with self-created furnishings, and it's interesting to note that both her mother and sister are talented artists. Allen's case appears to be a key example of the brain's capacity to unlock previously hidden talents.
