Deadly Brain Lesion Fuels Artist's Talent     VIDEO: Artist
sanctuaryPlay      Documentary Explores Outsider Art
Brain Injuries Fuel Art         Silva's lesion -- also called a
hemangioma -- sits in the brain's left temporal lobe, where mood
and memory are formed. But it also puts pressure on the brain's
visual center and may explain why Silva sees the world
differently.  Cavernous malformations are a relatively uncommon
cluster of abnormal, dilated blood vessels. They can bleed,
causing weakness, numbness, distorted vision and even epileptic
seizures.  The damage from bleeding is cumulative, according to
Steven Karceski, associate professor of neurology at New York
Presbyterian Hospital, who treated Silva.  "When it's a younger
person, you assume they will live into their 70s and 80s," he
said. " Unless surgery is done, there is concern for memory and
language which is on that side of the brain."  Karceski admits
the relationship between brain damage and the artistic process
is not well-understood,