For centuries there has been speculation that creativity is somehow linked to
"insanity" or mental illness, although scientific studies of the suspected
connection are sparse. Nancy C. Andreasen of the University of Iowa College
of Medicine now reports that, at least among a small group of creative
writers, there is a close association between creativity and "affective
disorders" such as depression and manic depression.

Reasons for this relationship remain unclear. "Nevertheless," says Andreasen
in the October "American Journal of Psychiatry", "affective disorder may
produce some cultural advantages for society as a whole, in spite of the
individual pain and suffering that it also causes."

During the past 15 years, Andreasen interviewed 30 faculty members at the U.
of Iowa Writer's Workshop, one of the best-known in the country. She also
interviewed 30 control subjects of comparable age, sex and education, whose
occupations included hospital, administration, law and social work.

Andreasen found that 80 percent of the writers had had an episode of either
severe depression or manic depression - either a pronounced mania
characterized by euphoria, increased energy and poor judgement, or a milder
"hypomania" - at some time in their lives. Schizophrenia, marked by severe
thought disorders, was absent in the sample, but 30 percent of the writers
were diagnosed as alcoholic. None of the controls was schizophernic.

The writers also reported significantly more first-degree relatives with
creative achievements in a variety of fields, including literature, art, and
music. The breadth of creativity in these families suggests that a "general
factor" predisposing to creative success may be genetically transmitted, says
Andreasen. Average intelligence, as measured by several IQ tests, was
virtually the same for writers and controls.

Andreasen's report follows a 1983 study by Wasington DC psychologist Kay
Jamison of 46 top British artists and writers. More than 1/3 reported
having sought treatment for depression or manic depression. Poets and
playwrights in the study were the most likely to have severe mood swings.

20 artists in France,including writers, painters, sculptors and musicians,are
being examined by Kareen and Haglop Akiskal of the U. of Tennessee in Memphis
and psychiatrists at the U. of Paris. The ongoing study consists of extensive
interviews and includes 20 comparison subjects in other occupations.

"So far, the most striking aspect of the artists is thier temperament, not
the presence of major psychiatric disorders," says Haglop Akiskal. "Since
their teens and 20s, they've been moody people with emotional ups and downs."

Nearly 70 percent of the artists have some type of affective disorder, notes
Akiskal. The most common diagnoses are a moderate form of manic depression or
even milder, intermittent periods of mood swings. More severe mood disorders,
hey says, probably disrupt an artist's career.

Furthermore, a recent study of 750 psychiatric patients in Memphis conducted
by the Akiskals found that those with mild manic depression or mood swings
were more likely to be creative artists. But the same dignoses also appeared
in excess among people who were successful in business and leadership
positions, says Haglop Akiskal. Studies of creativity and affective disorders
need to consider distinguished people who are not artists, he points out.