Condition Makes People Extremely Friendly But Lacking Social Skills

July 19, 2007 — -- What if there was a condition that made people intensely happy, yet socially awkward?

It's the question raised by one of the most mysterious phenomena known to science: Williams syndrome, a condition in which the areas of the brain that process hearing are more rich in connections than a normal brain, resulting in people who can socialize and hear music better than others, but have problems dealing with everyday interactions.

While people with Williams syndrome have smaller brains than average, studies have shown that they experience sound — like music and language — more intensely than the rest of the population. They also tend to be incredibly sociable.

"When you interact with a person with Williams syndrome, there's an obviously gregariousness that is so dramatic that you cannot not notice it," said Dr. Marty Levinson, who has treated Williams patients. "It's something about their brain that when music comes in it goes through pathways, it creates reactions and it has an effect on them."

According to Allan Reiss, a neuroscientist at Stanford University's medical school, Williams occurs when there is a loss of about 20 genes on one of the human chromosomes, but it is usually not hereditary.

"It's due to the loss of those genes in either the sperm or the egg," he said, "but it's typically not passed on from father or mother to child, except in rare conditions."

Ben Monkaba, 21, has Williams syndrome. He gravitates toward people, always eager to make them happy.

"Most kids with Williams are the first ones to say to someone, 'Do you need a hug? Do you know what I mean? Are you having a bad day?'" said Ben's mother, Terry Monkaba. "They intuitively know those things."

He also loves to play music, especially on the drums, and elicit reactions from his audience.

"I have [the] ability to make people happy, which is an easy thing to do," Ben Monkaba said. "It's just a pleasure to play music. It's really fun just to watch people and to see their reactions."