Brain Illness and Creativity: Mechanisms and Treatment Risks

Abstract

Highlights • Psychiatric and neurological drug choice may alter patients' creativity, sometimes in counterintuitive ways. • To preserve creativity, treatments that enhance dopaminergic function are more helpful than those that decrease dopaminergic function. • Traits that in stressful environments increase vulnerability to illness may, in permissive environments, help creativity. Brain diseases and their treatment may help or hurt creativity in ways that shape quality of life. Increased creative drive is associated with bipolar disorder, depression, psychosis, temporal lobe epilepsy, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson disease treatments, and autism. Creativity depends on goal-driven approach motivation from midbrain dopaminergic systems. Fear-driven avoidance motivation is of less aid to creativity. When serotonin and norepinephrine lower motivation and flexible behaviour, they can inhibit creativity. Hemispheric lateralization and frontotemporal connections must interact to create new ideas and conceptual schemes. The right brain and temporal lobe contribute skill in novelty detection, while the left brain and frontal lobe foster approach motivation and more easily generate new patterns of action from the novel perceptions. Genes and phenotypes that increase plasticity and creativity in tolerant environments with relaxed selection pressure may confer risk in rigorous environments. Few papers substantively address this important but fraught topic. Antidepressants (ADs) that inhibit fear-driven motivation, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, sometimes inhibit goal-oriented motivation as well. ADs that boost goal-directed motivation, such as bupropion, may remediate this effect. Benzodiazepines and alcohol may be counterproductive. Although dopaminergic agonists sometimes stimulate creativity, their doing so may inappropriately disinhibit behaviour. Dopamine antagonists may suppress creative motivation; lithium and anticonvulsant mood stabilizers may do so less. Physical exercise and REM sleep may help creativity. Art therapy and psychotherapy are not well studied. Preserving creative motivation can help creativity and other aspects of well-being in all patients, not just artists or researchers.

Creative cognition and systems biology on the edge of chaos

“…Others have emphasized noradrenergic mechanisms to achieve similar network dynamics (McClure et al, 2006). We believe this view advances conceptualization of the role of DA in creative cognition beyond models in which DA was suggested to have a unitary function by facilitating “working memory” or “mental associations” (Flaherty, 2011), or “flexibility” as manifest in higher-order personality traits (DeYoung, 2006). …”

Creativity, thinking style and mental disorders

“…Creativity is any idea, procedure or product that significantly change the present status (Thys et al 2013). The effect of dopaminergic neurotransmission has been proposed in creative thinkings and behaviors (De Manzano, 2010;Flaherty, 2011). Kontez (1988) has defined the creativity as the ability of power and realization of new ideas (Sam Khanian, 2002;Davoudi, 2014).…”

Odnos Kreativnosti I Tendencije Ka Ispoljavanju Psihopatoloških Simptoma U Svetlu Modela Zajedničke Vulnerabilnosti

“…Stoga bi bilo nužno u daljim istraživanjima ispitati kauzalnost ovih relacija i dodatno rasvetliti postavke na kojima se temelji model zajedničke vulnerabilnosti. Dalje, sklonost ka sinestetskim iskustvima ispostavila se kao marginalno značajan prediktor psihopatologije, što ilustruje tendenciju koja je kongruentna sa nekim od dosadašnjih istraživanja i predikcijama modela (Flaherty, 2011), a koje se odnose na deljene faktore vulnerabilnosti. Međutim, nije dobijena statistički značajna korelacija između divergentnog mišljenja i tendencije ka psihopatološkim simptomima.…”