Creative people are often labeled insane.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Scientists in Iceland have uncovered a thought provoking genetic link between artistic creativity and both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to a study published on Monday.
The study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, determined the genetic factors that raise the risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are found more often in people in creative professions. Painters, musicians, writers and dancers were, on average, 25% more likely to carry the gene variants than individuals with professions the scientists judged to be less creative, such as manual laborers and salespeople, according to The Guardian.
The study’s authors first compared genetic and medical data from 86,000 Icelanders, establishing a DNA signature that indicated a doubled risk for schizophrenia and an increase by a factor of three for bipolar disorder, wrote AFP.
The researchers came to their conclusion by then observing the same variants in over 1,000 people who work in “creative occupations” in Iceland — meaning people who belong to national societies of visual artists, dancers, musicians, writers, and actors, reported The Verge.
“To be creative, you have to think differently,” said Kari Stefansson, founder and CEO of deCODE, the genetics company based in Reykjavik that commissioned the study. “And when we are different, we have a tendency to be labeled strange, crazy and even insane,” he told The Guardian.
Stefansson conceded that his study found only a weak link between the genetic variants for mental illness and creativity, but still managed to eloquently lend unempirical credence to the findings.
“Often, when people are creating something new, they end up straddling between sanity and insanity,” he said. “I think these results support the old concept of the mad genius. Creativity is a quality that has given us Mozart, Bach, Van Gogh. It’s a quality that is very important for our society. But it comes at a risk to the individual, and 1% of the population pays the price for it.”