A new study has shown that there is a link between creativity and the Parkinson’s disease drug levadopa, but it only seems to occur in PD patients. Several doctors have seen that patients who receive levadopa were producing many more paintings, poems and novels. But in some cases, they could actually become obsessive in their creativity.
This phenomenon was the focus in a new clinical study recently that was published by a neurologist in the journal Annals of Neurology. The researcher, neurologist Rivka Inzelberg, noted that the medication can bring on a loss of impulse control, and can lead to impulsive and obsessive painting in some patients. She noted that she and her team wanted to see if there was any correlation between creativity measures, and compulsive or impulsive measures.
In the study, one account was obsessive painting was seen. The patient, who has Parkinson’s and was taken levadopa, would paint from morning to night, and sometimes even through the night. The patient would use many brushes at once, and would even use eating utensils to spread more paint. His obsession would get so extreme that he would tear open tubes of paint and spread it all over the room – onto walls and furniture.
In this study, Inzelburg provided the subjects both visual and verbal tests and looked at their creativity responses. She had patients in the test who did and did not have PD. The results did not indicate a relationship between compulsive actions and behaviors and the higher levels of creativity she saw, they did discover that people who take more levadopa would score better than people who did not have PD. They also were more creative in their various responses.
The researcher said that the link between creativity and dopamine was due to what she called ‘novelty-seeking behavior’ that was thought to be run by areas of the brain that product dopamine, such as the hippocampus and ventrial striatum.
The findings of the study are interesting, because researchers have long suspected that there is connection between various mental and neurodegenerative disorders and more creativity. Vincent Van Gogh is thought to have had many manic painting episodes, and painter Edvard Munch, who painted The Scream, also suffered from mental problems and anxiety.
Parkinson’s Products For Easier Writing
As PD progresses in you or your loved one, writing becomes more challenging, but there are many affordable products that will ease the writing process for you. These include EzGrip Pen Grips, and the Adult Weighted Universal Standard Holder, both pictured below.
