Study Links Intellectual Ability With Bipolar Disorder
(London) -- The saying "there's no genius without a little madness" may be grounded in science. Researchers at King's College London found that straight-A students in the humanities were almost four times as likely as average learners to develop bipolar disorder as adults. This especially held true for students in music, art and literature. Researchers said in statement that at the emotional high end of the disorder, called hypomania, people are in a sustained, elevated mood and they can often be, quote, "witty and inventive, and able to link ideas in innovative ways." The disorder also gives people an almost superhuman ability to concentrate for long periods of time. The study looked at more than 700-thousand Swedish students who took standardized national exams at age 15 or 16 between 1988 and 1997. They then compared their test scores to hospital records for bipolar disorder until the subjects turned 31. The findings are published in the "British Journal of Psychiatry." |