Creative People and People with Mental Illness Have Same Brains

There are people who have a high level of creativity and ideas that no one else thought. But people like this are often suspected of suffering from mental illness. Is there a relationship of creativity with mental penyait?

Recent studies show the brain gives the same response to the chemical dopamine in patients with schizophrenia and also the people who are very creative.

The results showed a similarity between people who are very creative and with schizophrenia. These findings indicate that this type of creative people who may not be able to filter the information in his head like a normal person, so that creative people are better able to make connections to create unique ideas.

"Thinking outside the box (usual way) are likely to have less boxes intact or complete," said researcher Fredrik Ullen from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, as quoted from LiveScience, Thursday (05/20/2010).

The study found that the creative skills more commonly found in people who have mental illness in his family history. People like this are also associated higher risks of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Several studies have also found a link between creative ability and dopamine systems in the brain, namely the neural network was formed to respond to dopamine. However, the mechanisms regarding the relationship of dopamine and creativity remains largely a mystery.

Ullen and colleagues provide psychological testing on 14 participants with no history of mental illness in his family. This test is designed to measure creativity by asking participants to find different solutions to solve a problem.

Apparently, participants who do the job well and is very creative has a density of dopamine receptors in the brain, known as D2 receptors is lower. D2 receptors located in the thalamus region.

"Given that people with schizophrenia also have a low density of D2 in the thalamus of the brain. This shows the relationship between mental illness and creativity," said Ullen.

Parts of the brain has a function as the central thalamus relays (broadcasting again), to filter information before it reaches the cortex region and is responsible for cognition and reasoning abilities.

The results of this study have been published online on May 17, 2010 in the journal PLoS ONE.