“There is no genius without a touch of madness. This well-known Aristotle quote is now more than righteous poetry. A study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience has indeed just given a scientific explanation for this association between creativity and mental illnesses.
In a sample of more than 86,000 Icelanders, the researchers showed that genetic mutations associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder could also be linked to increased creativity. This genetic association has also been found in other studies involving nearly 9,000 Swedes and 18,500 Dutch.
The researchers defined creative people as “people capable of having an innovative approach using mental processes different from the dominant modes of thought or expression. They only retained in their study members of national artistic societies of dancers, actors, musicians or even writers. They also took into account the differences in the intelligence quotient and the educational level of the study participants, as well as the existence of relatives suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, to avoid bias.
“Our study supports the idea of a direct role played by genetic factors on creativity”, conclude the authors. Their results are all the more convincing as they found no genetic mutation in representatives of five other non-artistic professions (farmers, fishermen, employees, manual workers and salespeople).
When asked about this study, several experts cited by the Genetic Expert News Service show some reservations, however. “The heart of the matter is whether being a member of an artistic society means being creative,” says Dr Vishwajit L. Nimagonkar, professor of psychiatry and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh ( United States). For him, creativity remains “extremely difficult to define. “
David Cultler, professor and assistant in the department of human genetics at Emory University in Atlanta (USA) notes that “the results are robust but very limited. He further adds that the genes involved in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are “probably involved in all kinds of neurological and cognitive functions, and not just those related to artistic ability.” “
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