Manic depression linked to creativity
19 November 2005 From New Scientist
CREATIVE yet difficult people are often described as
having an "artistic temperament". Now there
may be evidence for it. The link between creativity and
bipolar disorder, or manic depression, has long been
noted (
New Scientist, 29 October, p 40), and it has been
suggested that bipolar episodes fuel creativity. But
a new study suggests bipolar disorder and creativity
actually share a common root.
Kiki Chang and Terence Ketter of Stanford University
in California studied the children of adult sufferers
of bipolar disorder who either had it too or were at
high risk of developing it. On a creativity test measuring
responses to line drawings, both groups of children
outscored healthy volunteers (Journal
of Psychiatric Research, vol 39, p 623), suggesting bipolar episodes
are not necessary for creativity. Instead, Ketter suggests
that creativity and bipolar disorder link to "temperamental" characteristics
like irritability.
