Parkinson's medication 'could increase creativity'

A neurologist in Israel has discovered that a potential side-effect of Parkinson's treatment is the desire to be creative and artistic.

Dr. Rivka Inzelberg began to notice that Parkinson's patients often brought her sculptures, poems or drawings that they had created since they began taking medication that stimulates production of dopamine, Israel21C reports.

Dopamine is lacking in patients with Parkinson's and though not all patients taking the medication become impulsively artistic, Dr Inzelberg believes that there is enough of a link to warrant further investigation.

She said: "This is important for a better understanding of the neurological basis of creativity in ‘normal’ humans."

Dr Inzelberg says that a connection between creativity and dopamine has long been suspected and she highlights the fact that Vincent Van Gogh was a schizophrenia patient as evidence. Schizophrenia is a condition caused by an overproduction of dopamine.

Her findings are due to be published in a forthcoming edition of the Behavioural Neuroscience journal and include a case study of a patient who became a prolific painter while on Parkinson's medication, but stopped when the dosage was reduced.

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