((((((((((((( Protein Spotlight Update: tipping the mind ))))))))))))))) June 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talk about the other side of the coin. There is growing evidence that creativity may well go hand in hand with psychosis, in particular schizophrenia. Intuitively, it does not seem so far-fetched a notion. Just think of Salvador Dali, for example. Or Peter Sellers. But mental illness has been around for as long as humans, so why does evolution bother to preserve it? Precisely because of the advantages of a creative mind. Researchers are not suggesting that someone suffering from a mental disorder is inevitably a potential artist. Or vice versa. At least not quite… But what they are slowly demonstrating is that there seems to be a genetic predisposition for creativity and psychosis. And that this predisposition has exactly the same origin for both traits. More specifically, a protein known as neuregulin-1 may have the capacity – given the environment – to tip a mind into mental illness or genius. http://www.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/129/