Artistic creativity may share
genetic roots with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, a new study suggests. The
research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, delves into a
well-known genetic database -- the deCODE library of DNA codes derived from
samples provided by the population of Iceland. The authors first compared
genetic and medical data from 86,000 Icelanders, establishing a DNA signature
that pointed to a doubled risk for schizophrenia and an increase of a third for
bipolar disorder. The next step was to
look at the genomes of people engaged in artistic work. Those samples came from
more than 1000 volunteers who were members of Iceland's national societies of
visual arts, theatre, dance, writing and music. Members of these organisations
were 17 per cent likelier than non-members to have the same genetic signature,
the researchers found. The finding was supported by four studies in the
Netherlands and Sweden covering around 35,000 people, comparing individuals in
the general public and those in artistic occupations. June 9
The genetic underpinnings of
psychosis are elusive and diffuse. There are hundreds of common genetic
mutations scattered throughout the human genome that each bump up by just a
tiny bit the risk of developing a mental illness like schizophrenia. Many people
carry some set of those genes, but most don't end up with a psychotic disorder.
Instead, a study suggests, they might be getting a small creative boost.
It's an idea from the ancients.
The philosopher Aristotle famously opined that genius and madness go hand in
hand. Psychiatric studies have to some degree supported the adage. Studies of
more than 1 million Swedish people in 2011 and 2013 found that people who had
close relatives with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were much more likely to
become creative professionals. (The patients with mental illness were not
themselves more creative, with the exception of some who had bipolar disorder.)
June 8
We shall see in this post
that this breakthrough in understanding of the link between creativity and schizophrenia
can be traced to the recent lunar eclipse of April 4. A chart drawn for the
eclipse at London from where the journal Nature
Neuroscience is published is shown here. The fact that the eclipse
luminaries are placed on the meridian axis and part of a T-square with
Uranus-Pluto suggests that the eclipse’s message was going to be delivered very strongly at this place.
So how do we decipher the
message? We start with the stars that are conjunct Sun, Uranus and MC.
Uranus [16ar] is conjunct
stars Tau Ceti [18ar] and WW Piscium [16ar] in the West Fish. Under Cetus, the
Fishes and tropical Aries, these pioneers “lift and loosen old foundations,”
finding new ways of seeing, studying and dealing with problems. Experimental,
courageous and resourceful, many become “founding fathers and mothers”,
reformers willing to break new ground, forging paths for others to follow. Also
influencing this area is the star Alpheratz, alpha Andromeda [15ar] in the head
of the Chained Woman. It is interesting that the star in Andromeda’s Head is
also the Navel of Pegasus. The Flying Horse is a symbol of a powerful mind and
unbridled imagination and the fact that it is “born” from the head of a Chained
Woman suggests that no matter what constraint life imposes, our minds can always discover new ways to
free ourselves from the past [1].
Let us remember that Cetus, the sea monster
is a symbol of all that ails humanity as it struggles (chains of Andromeda) to
evolve from the primal “soup” (the ocean) from which it originated. The two Fishes swimming in opposite
directions, one towards the past and the other towards the future, represent
two possible outcomes – insanity or creative genius - since the Uranus-Pluto
square represents a breakdown or a breakthrough [2].
[1] Secrets of the Ancient
Skies; Diana K. Rosenberg (v.1, p. 82-88)
[2] The Uranus/Pluto Square:
Breakdown or Breakthrough by Ray Grasse http://goo.gl/anKNpS
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