A study conducted by Robert Power and his colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College in London have found a genetic link between schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, and creativity.
Creativity, which is defined by researchers as “novel approaches requiring cognitive processes that are different from prevailing modes of thought or expression” is often attributed to some of the world’s greatest artists.
The frequency of occurrence of psychiatric conditions being present among individuals that also display creativity led researchers to believe there could be a link between the two.
Famous examples include Vincent van Gogh, who was believed to suffer from schizophrenia, and musician Kurt Cobain, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
More recently, singer Demi Lovato also spoke out about dealing with bipolar disorder.
The team from King’s College worked with deCODE Genetics (a biopharmaceutical company in Iceland) in order to analyse data for 86,292 people from Iceland’s population.
They found that out of the individuals whose profession was as a writer, painter, musician, or dancer, the individual was 25 per cent more likely to carry gene variants related to bipolar or schizophrenia than people employed in less creative jobs, like farmers.
Even people with only a membership in at least one national artistic society were 17 per cent more likely to have gene variants than individuals who were not members.
More information about the study is available in the journal Nature Neuroscience.