Fine line between genius and madness

[ukhudshanskiy]

There is a fine line between genius and madness because they share the same genes. Psychologists have discovered that creative people have a gene in common which is also linked to psychosis and depression. They believe that the findings could explain why "geniuses" like Vincent van Gogh and Sylvia Plath displayed such destructive behaviour. The gene, which is called neuregulin 1, plays a role in brain development but a variant of it is also associated with mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The head researcher Dr Szabolcs Kéri said that this is the first study to show that a genetic variant associated with psychosis may have some beneficial functions.
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.