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InvisibleArden
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Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds
    #12666387 - 06/01/10 12:27 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100518064610.htm

ScienceDaily (May 19, 2010) — New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia.

High creative skills have been shown to be somewhat more common in people who have mental illness in the family. Creativity is also linked to a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Certain psychological traits, such as the ability to make unusual pr bizarre associations are also shared by schizophrenics and healthy, highly creative people. And now the correlation between creativity and mental health has scientific backing.

"We have studied the brain and the dopamine D2 receptors, and have shown that the dopamine system of healthy, highly creative people is similar to that found in people with schizophrenia," says associate professor Fredrik Ullén from Karolinska Institutet's Department of Women's and Children's Health, co-author of the study that appears in the journal PLoS ONE.

Just which brain mechanisms are responsible for this correlation is still something of a mystery, but Dr Ullén conjectures that the function of systems in the brain that use dopamine is significant; for example, studies have shown that dopamine receptor genes are linked to ability for divergent thought. Dr Ullén's study measured the creativity of healthy individuals using divergent psychological tests, in which the task was to find many different solutions to a problem.

"The study shows that highly creative people who did well on the divergent tests had a lower density of D2 receptors in the thalamus than less creative people," says Dr Ullén. "Schizophrenics are also known to have low D2 density in this part of the brain, suggesting a cause of the link between mental illness and creativity."

The thalamus serves as a kind of relay centre, filtering information before it reaches areas of the cortex, which is responsible, amongst other things, for cognition and reasoning.

"Fewer D2 receptors in the thalamus probably means a lower degree of signal filtering, and thus a higher flow of information from the thalamus," says Dr Ullén, and explains that this could a possible mechanism behind the ability of healthy highly creative people to see numerous uncommon connections in a problem-solving situation and the bizarre associations found in the mentally ill.

"Thinking outside the box might be facilitated by having a somewhat less intact box," says Dr Ullén about his new findings.

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OfflineGutteralRetch
Third Eye Opened
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Registered: 10/25/09
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: Arden]
    #12666425 - 06/01/10 12:33 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

I love this article. Amazing find! :thumbup:


--------------------
GuTTErAL rETCH ~ PRYING OPEN MY THiRD EYE


Has anyone else felt like this?

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OfflineTeamAmerica
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Registered: 12/02/08
Posts: 2,954
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: Arden]
    #12666510 - 06/01/10 12:48 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

Arden said:
Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100518064610.htm

ScienceDaily (May 19, 2010) — New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia.

High creative skills have been shown to be somewhat more common in people who have mental illness in the family. Creativity is also linked to a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Certain psychological traits, such as the ability to make unusual pr bizarre associations are also shared by schizophrenics and healthy, highly creative people. And now the correlation between creativity and mental health has scientific backing.

"We have studied the brain and the dopamine D2 receptors, and have shown that the dopamine system of healthy, highly creative people is similar to that found in people with schizophrenia," says associate professor Fredrik Ullén from Karolinska Institutet's Department of Women's and Children's Health, co-author of the study that appears in the journal PLoS ONE.

Just which brain mechanisms are responsible for this correlation is still something of a mystery, but Dr Ullén conjectures that the function of systems in the brain that use dopamine is significant; for example, studies have shown that dopamine receptor genes are linked to ability for divergent thought. Dr Ullén's study measured the creativity of healthy individuals using divergent psychological tests, in which the task was to find many different solutions to a problem.

"The study shows that highly creative people who did well on the divergent tests had a lower density of D2 receptors in the thalamus than less creative people," says Dr Ullén. "Schizophrenics are also known to have low D2 density in this part of the brain, suggesting a cause of the link between mental illness and creativity."

The thalamus serves as a kind of relay centre, filtering information before it reaches areas of the cortex, which is responsible, amongst other things, for cognition and reasoning.

"Fewer D2 receptors in the thalamus probably means a lower degree of signal filtering, and thus a higher flow of information from the thalamus," says Dr Ullén, and explains that this could a possible mechanism behind the ability of healthy highly creative people to see numerous uncommon connections in a problem-solving situation and the bizarre associations found in the mentally ill.

"Thinking outside the box might be facilitated by having a somewhat less intact box," says Dr Ullén about his new findings.





"One man gazed into the abyss and grasped the light, the other man went insane."

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InvisibleArden
לנשום

Registered: 09/01/08
Posts: 7,666
Loc: Α & Ω Flag
Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: TeamAmerica]
    #12666572 - 06/01/10 01:06 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Various quotes:

“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.”

“For me, insanity is super sanity. The normal is psychotic. Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity.”

“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.”

“Insanity in individuals is something rare, but in groups, parties, nations and epochs it is the rule”

“Insanity is the only sane reaction to an insane society.”

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OfflineGutteralRetch
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Registered: 10/25/09
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: TeamAmerica]
    #12666674 - 06/01/10 01:29 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

TeamAmerica said:
"One man gazed into the abyss and grasped the light, the other man went insane."




OOo.. who said that?


--------------------
GuTTErAL rETCH ~ PRYING OPEN MY THiRD EYE


Has anyone else felt like this?

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InvisibleBlueIndian
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Registered: 01/17/10
Posts: 858
Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: GutteralRetch]
    #12666765 - 06/01/10 01:48 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

So in short there`s a fine line between brilliance and insanity.....





I think I would rather be on the edge of that schitzo line than some dull simple minded person......


Let`s hear it for low D2 density!!!:rockon:

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OfflineSS32
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Registered: 07/27/09
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: BlueIndian]
    #12667086 - 06/01/10 02:51 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

BlueIndian said:
So in short there`s a fine line between brilliance and insanity.....





I think I would rather be on the edge of that schitzo line than some dull simple minded person......





Seriously.  I might be a little nuts, but at least I'm interesting.


--------------------
Did he dream about dragons? Did he dream about deer? Did he whisper  he names of friends who were near?
What songs did they play, and how far away? Why did he whisper, why did she scream?
What does the sound of a screen door mean?
Who talks on the hill? Who goes to the cellar, can you feel the chill? Where does the river, when will the wind?
How far are the mountains? Where do they end? Why would the church?
Did the service begin? Tell me who died, and tell me who cried.
Help me hide in the skin of a deer, my zippered-up bag in the mouth of a stag so swiftly I go through rows of does,
it flows, it flows, it flows, it flows all over the hill where the green grass grows.

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InvisibleArden
לנשום

Registered: 09/01/08
Posts: 7,666
Loc: Α & Ω Flag
Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: SS32]
    #12667135 - 06/01/10 03:01 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

Seriously.  I might be a little nuts, but at least I'm interesting.




Good ice-breaker for a resume.

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Invisible5-HT2A
Registered: 01/30/10
Posts: 1,794
Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: Arden]
    #12667189 - 06/01/10 03:15 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

That about sums me up pretty well. Fascinating and thought provoking to no end.

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OfflineTryptamineDream
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: 5-HT2A]
    #12667511 - 06/01/10 04:28 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

I saw this article recently, and it might have some interesting implications not only for the link between schizophrenia and creativity, but also for psychedelics and how they affect the brain. I wonder how the serotonin system ties into this picture.

This quote from the article in particular intrigues me:

Quote:

The thalamus serves as a kind of relay centre, filtering information before it reaches areas of the cortex, which is responsible, amongst other things, for cognition and reasoning.

"Fewer D2 receptors in the thalamus probably means a lower degree of signal filtering, and thus a higher flow of information from the thalamus," says Dr Ullén, and explains that this could a possible mechanism behind the ability of healthy highly creative people to see numerous uncommon connections in a problem-solving situation and the bizarre associations found in the mentally ill.




Psychedelics are also connected to the thalamus and have a similar effect of causing a "lower degree of signal filtering" - see this (warning: PDF) for more information, the first few pages are irrelevant BS about drug dependence, but as you get in the reading gets much more interesting. Page 14 in particular talks about the possible effects of psychedelics on the thalamus, and it sounds very similar to what is described here.

In that PDF, it's described as "impaired sensory gating" with "some parallel to acute psychosis" - which is true. But I think what is also coming to light is the fact that psychedelics don't just cause psychotic symptoms in people - those same psychotic symptoms are also evidence of increased creativity. Creativity enhancement has long been touted as a "positive" to psychedelic use, but for the most part the evidence supporting that theory is anecdotal - but perhaps we might eventually see research linking the areas of the brain associated with creativity to the areas of the brain that are affected by psychedelic use (if there isn't already research like that out there), thus basically proving the idea that psychedelics enhance creativity.

Such research could also help explain why those with schizophrenic-type personalities/who are genetically pre-disposed to schizophrenia are much more likely to have severe, prolonged psychotic reactions while those with "mentally sound" personalities rarely, if ever, suffer such severe consequences. There are people who've tripped hundreds of times and have remained perfectly stable, while there's also people who've only tripped a couple times and have wound up with severe schizophrenic symptoms - there must be some difference which explains why people can have such different reactions.

Knowing and being able to test for such a difference could also help avoid the disastrous situations that psychedelics can sometimes give rise to, because schizophrenic symptoms sometimes aren't obvious until the ages of 19-22, and sometimes they never show up even with a genetic predisposition. If people had a way to know how vulnerable they might be to suffering severe psychotic episodes from psychedelic use, we could take away from that element of uncertainty, protecting people for whom psychedelics are dangerous (and hopefully preventing the kinds of horror stories that we've been hearing about in the news lately), and giving some peace of mind to people for whom psychedelics are safe. I doubt, though, that there would be a clear-cut black-and-white difference.

In any case, I'm pretty much convinced that there is some kind of link between creativity, psychedelics, and schizophrenia, and I'm very curious to see the exact details of that link unearthed, with research such as that described in this article.

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OfflineSS32
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Registered: 07/27/09
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: Arden]
    #12667543 - 06/01/10 04:36 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

Arden said:
Quote:

Seriously.  I might be a little nuts, but at least I'm interesting.




Good ice-breaker for a resume.




Hahahah yessss.  Hell, that's a good ice-breaker, period.


--------------------
Did he dream about dragons? Did he dream about deer? Did he whisper  he names of friends who were near?
What songs did they play, and how far away? Why did he whisper, why did she scream?
What does the sound of a screen door mean?
Who talks on the hill? Who goes to the cellar, can you feel the chill? Where does the river, when will the wind?
How far are the mountains? Where do they end? Why would the church?
Did the service begin? Tell me who died, and tell me who cried.
Help me hide in the skin of a deer, my zippered-up bag in the mouth of a stag so swiftly I go through rows of does,
it flows, it flows, it flows, it flows all over the hill where the green grass grows.

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Offlinedarkczar
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Registered: 08/17/08
Posts: 218
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: SS32]
    #12667706 - 06/01/10 05:00 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Very interesting ideas tryptamineDream - cool link too.:thumbup:


--------------------
God is my designated driver.

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InvisibleArden
לנשום

Registered: 09/01/08
Posts: 7,666
Loc: Α & Ω Flag
Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: darkczar]
    #12667761 - 06/01/10 05:11 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Journal of Psychopharm:

"Is it time to revisit the role of psychedelic drugs in enhancing human creativity?"

There are similarities between the typical traits of creative people and the subjective psychological characteristics of the psychedelic (hallucinogenic) drug experience.

http://jop.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/8/821

I have access to most journals if anyone plunders this topic further and would like full e-copies.

Good overview:
Creativity and Psychedelics
Rick J. Strassman, M.D.
Site Street
Spring 2003
http://www.maps.org/media/strassman-spring03.html

Regarding schizophrenia, I am a proponent of Thomas Szasz. I don't buy much of the psychiatry bullshit that is peddled by the DSM and pharm companies, including schizophrenia. It's too vague. In academia the concept functions as a blank, concave canvas where researchers jump on and stick their unoriginal willies in it like a cheap harlot.

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InvisibleArden
לנשום

Registered: 09/01/08
Posts: 7,666
Loc: Α & Ω Flag
Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: Arden]
    #12667829 - 06/01/10 05:26 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

The myth of mental illness: "Mental illness" is an expression, a metaphor that describes an offending, disturbing, shocking, or vexing conduct, action, or pattern of behavior, such as schizophrenia, as an "illness" or "disease". Szasz wrote: "If you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. If the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; If you talk to the dead, you are a schizophrenic."[7]  While people behave and think in ways that are very disturbing, and that may resemble a disease process (pain, deterioration, response to various interventions), this does not mean they actually have a disease. To Szasz, disease can only mean something people "have," while behavior is what people "do". Diseases are "malfunctions of the human body, of the heart, the liver, the kidney, the brain" while "no behavior or misbehavior is a disease or can be a disease. That's not what diseases are" Szasz cites drapetomania as an example behavior which many in society did not approve of, being labeled and widely cited as a 'disease' and likewise with women who did not bow to men's will as having "hysteria"[8]  Psychiatry actively obscures the difference between (mis)behavior and disease, in its quest to help or harm parties to conflicts. By calling certain people "diseased", psychiatry attempts to deny them responsibility as moral agents, in order to better control them.

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OfflineTryptamineDream
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Re: Dopamine System in Highly Creative People Similar to That Seen in Schizophrenics, Study Finds [Re: Arden]
    #12668718 - 06/01/10 07:59 PM (13 years, 9 months ago)

Quote:

Arden said:
The myth of mental illness: "Mental illness" is an expression, a metaphor that describes an offending, disturbing, shocking, or vexing conduct, action, or pattern of behavior, such as schizophrenia, as an "illness" or "disease". Szasz wrote: "If you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. If the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; If you talk to the dead, you are a schizophrenic."[7]  While people behave and think in ways that are very disturbing, and that may resemble a disease process (pain, deterioration, response to various interventions), this does not mean they actually have a disease. To Szasz, disease can only mean something people "have," while behavior is what people "do". Diseases are "malfunctions of the human body, of the heart, the liver, the kidney, the brain" while "no behavior or misbehavior is a disease or can be a disease. That's not what diseases are" Szasz cites drapetomania as an example behavior which many in society did not approve of, being labeled and widely cited as a 'disease' and likewise with women who did not bow to men's will as having "hysteria"[8]  Psychiatry actively obscures the difference between (mis)behavior and disease, in its quest to help or harm parties to conflicts. By calling certain people "diseased", psychiatry attempts to deny them responsibility as moral agents, in order to better control them.




I do agree that in many respects psychiatry has gone far overboard with labelling people with mental disorders, but the flaw with this theory that "behavior is not a disease" is that our behavior arises from our brain - in other words, if our brain is "diseased" then the symptoms of that disease could very well be expressed by our behavior. You can "have" a disease that alters what you "do." To say otherwise is to pay no respect to the most deeply complex and most difficult-to-understand part of our body, the mind.

Just because some mental disorders are invented myths doesn't mean that there's no such thing as a mental disorder - that amounts to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Mental disorders are difficult to define and characterize, because the mind is a complex organ which is affected by many things and which expresses itself in many different ways. Schizophrenia is "vague" because we don't yet fully understand the disorder, but just because it's vague doesn't mean that the symptoms aren't obvious or debilitating. "Abnormal behavior" is fine when a person can still function and be happy, but if "abnormal behavior" interferes with functioning and happiness, then it surely must be considered a disease of the mind.

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