History has always held a place for the "mad genius", the kind who, in a bout of euphoric fervor, rattles off revolutionary ideas, incomprehensible to the general population, yet invaluable to the population's evolution into a better adapted species over time. Is this link between creativity and mental illness one of coincidence, or are the two actually related? If related, does heightened creative behavior alter the brain's neurochemistry such that one becomes more prone to a mental illness like bipolar disorder? Does bipolar disorder cause alterations in neurochemistry in the brain that increase creative behavior through elevated capacity for thought and expression? Is this link the result of some third factor which causes both of the two effects?
Centuries of literature and innumerable studies have supported strong
cases relating creativity--particularly in the arts, music and
literature--to bipolar disorder. Both creativity and bipolar disorder
can be attributed to a genetic predisposition and environmental
influences. Biographical studies, diagnostic and psychological studies
and family studies provide different aspects for examining this
relationship.
A 1949 study of 113 German artists, writers, architects, and composers
was one of the first to undertake an extensive, in-depth investigation
of both artists and their relatives. Although two-thirds of the 113
artists and writers were "psychically normal," there were more suicides
and "insane and neurotic" individuals in the artistic group than could
be expected in the general population, with the highest rates of
psychiatric abnormality found in poets (50%) and musicians (38%). (1)
Many other similar tests revealed this disproportionate occurrence of
mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, in artistic and creative
people, including a recent study of individuals over a thirty-year
period (1960 to 1990). Overall, when comparing individuals in the
creative arts with those in other professions (such as businessmen,
scientists, and public officials), the artistic group showed two to
three times the rate of psychosis, suicide attempts, mood disorders,
and substance abuse. (1)
Another recent study was the first to undertake scientific diagnostic
inquiries into the relationship between creativity and psychopathology
in living writers. Eighty percent of the study sample met formal
diagnostic criteria for a major mood disorder versus thirty percent of
the control sample. The statistical difference between these two rates
is highly significant, where p<.001. This means that the odds of
this difference occurring by chance alone are less than one in a
thousand. Of particular interest, almost one-half the creative writers
met the diagnostic criteria for full-blown manic-depressive illness. (1)
This is not to say that the majority of artists are bipolar but rather
that there is a considerably higher incidence in bipolar disorder among
artists than among the general population.
Collectively, these studies and numerous others have clinically
supported the existence of a link between bipolar disorder and
creativity. Now the question applies: Is bipolar disorder the result of
above-average creativity or is above-average creativity the result of
bipolar disorder or are the two a result of some third factor which
causes the two effects? From the sources I have encountered, I believe
a stronger case is made for the latter, although it is impossible to
scientifically or psychologically answer that question at this time.
Predisposition to bipolar disorder is genetically inherited and current
studies suggest the same for predisposition to creativity but is there
a common genetic factor, which determines the expression of both
traits? If there were, neither creativity nor bipolar disorder would
implicitly cause the other. A recent study hypothesized that a genetic
vulnerability to manic-depressive illness would be accompanied by a
predisposition to creativity, which, according to the investigators,
might be more prominent among close relatives of manic-depressive
patients than among the patients themselves. Significantly higher
combined scores from a creativity assessment test were observed among
the manic-depressive patients and their normal first-degree relatives
than among the control subjects, suggesting a possible genetic link
between the two characteristics, as both are prevalent in families with
a history of bipolar disorder and not as evident in control families. (1)
A wide variety of artistic and creative talents, ranging from music to
art to mathematics, were exhibited among the family members of the
bipolar patients as well. The varied manifestations of creativity
within the same family suggest that whatever is transmitted within
families is a general factor that predisposes them to a creative
mentality, rather than a specific giftedness in a single area. The
coexistence of creativity accompanied by manic depression, whether
expressed in bipolar patients or not expressed in their predisposed
family members, suggests that a third factor, yet unidentified, may be
orchestrating the expression of the two.
Assuming both creativity and bipolar disorder, or at least
predisposition to the illness, are expressed simultaneously, what
accounts for heightened creativity in people upon onset of bipolar
disorder? A deficit in normal information-processing could be
manifested in a severe behavioral disorder, but it could also favor
creative associations between information units or a propensity toward
innovation and originality. (2)
The altered neurological structure and functioning in the frontal lobe,
prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and cerebellum associated
with bipolar disorder may also allow for more creative thought.
People with bipolar mood disorders tend to be more emotionally
reactive, which gives them greater sensitivity and acuteness. This,
coupled with a lack of inhibition due to compromised frontal lobe
processes, permits them unrestrained and unconventional forms of
expressions, less limited by accepted norms and customs. They are more
open to experimentation and risk-taking behavior, and, as a
consequence, more assertive and resourceful than the mean. (2) (3)
Characteristics of the bipolar disorder, such as lowered inhibition,
allow for freer expression of previously contained ideas and the
constant flux between manic and depressive states also gives an unusual
kaleidoscopic perspective of the world. All of these factors can
account for increased creativity once the illness erupts. (5)
The current model supports the existence of a relationship between
creativity and bipolar disorder as the coexisting effects caused by
some third factor. Uncovering the origin of the relationship between
creativity and bipolar disorder will require continued studies,
particularly those implementing brain scans and genetic isolation
techniques, aimed at identifying this mysterious third factor that
would link the two traits together. (4)
The new equipment and test available, such as PET scans, Magnetic
Resonance Imaging and gene mapping, has complicated the process by
offering new ways to explain bipolar disorder as a possible collection
of disorders presenting closely similar symptoms. Hence, the third
factor may actually be a combination of multiple factors like
environmental insults to fetal development, hormonal imbalances in the
womb and inordinate stress during development in addition to genetic
factors. (6)
When it is determined which of these factors, acting either alone or in
various combinations, are the mysterious third factor, the origin of
the relationship between creativity and bipolar disorder will be
unveiled.
2) Journal of Memetics, an article addressing creativity, evolution and mental illness.
3) Bipolar Disorder, an educational resource about bipolar disorder.
4) Manic-Depressive & Depressive Association of Boston, an article discussing the genetics of bipolar disorder.
5) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an online version of the resource book.
6) From Neurons to Neighborhoods, a book that addresses early development of the brain.