summary
background Creativity is an important human characteristic on which many of mankind’s achievements are based. For centuries practitioners of various disciplines have deliberated over the possible connection between creativity and psychopathology. Even today the issue is still being investigated, mainly by groups working more or less independently; these range from art experts to psychiatrists and neuroscientists.
aim In this article we bring together the foremost recent neuroscientific findings on the subject.
method We searched for relevant articles via electronic databases using a broad-band search strategy and concentrating mainly on neuroscientific publications.
results Our study of relevant articles showed that both the definition and the measurability of creativity are still problematic. Psychometric and psychodiagnostic research supports a link between creativity and the psychopathology of bipolar, schizophrenic and especially schizotypal disorders; the results of imaging techniques are less consistent and genetic research reveals a link between creativity and proneness to psychosis.
conclusion There seems to be a connection between creativity and psychopathology in the bipolar-schizophrenic continuum. This connection is even more evident within the individual components of creativity and symptom groups of these pathologies. There is a need for accurate definitions, measuring instruments and multidisciplinary collaboration.