What mechanisms affect the unusual social profile of Williams Syndrome individuals?
Individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) show an unusual pattern of social behavior. They are overfriendly and outgoing, and their language use is notably affective (Bellugi et al, 1998). These characteristics are the opposite of what we find in autism, where one of the core deficits is in mentalizing (Theory of Mind, ToM). However, WS individuals are not super-mentalizers: they also have some serious social difficulties. In terms of age groups, infants and toddlers do not follow the gaze of others (joint attention), children cannot establish contact with their peers, and in experimental situations (ToM tasks) WS adults do not always reach the level of normal children. We hypothesize that what is spared in WS is a paradoxical conversational module. A similar phenomenon was found in a case of spina bifida many years ago by Cromer. The mechanism of ToM might be independent from this module.
