Creative Minds: Altered Salience as a Bridge Between Creativity and Psychosis, a Case–Control Study
Andrea Patti, Giuseppe Pierpaolo Merola, Davide Benedetti, Bernardo Bozza, Giulia Pitt, Vincenzo Pecoraro, Gaia D'Anna, Giulia Minotti, Perart Study Group, Andrea Ballerini, Valdo Ricca
The Journal of Creative Behavior June 17, 2024 DOI: 10.1002/jocb.678 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractArtists report higher levels of aberrant salience—the tendency to attribute unusual significance to stimuli—than both healthy controls and patients with psychosis. In a study of 196 healthy controls, 50 artists from the Florence Academy of Fine Arts, and 84 outpatients diagnosed with psychosis, artists scored significantly higher on the Aberrant Salience Inventory. Group membership was the only factor influencing scores; age, gender, education, and antipsychotic treatment did not. The authors suggest that aberrant salience, rather than being solely a marker of pathology, may enhance creative faculties and unique perceptual experiences, and that education might help channel these mechanisms through art.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 330 |
| Population | Healthy controls, artists from Florence Academy of Fine Arts, and outpatients with psychosis |
| Keywords | Salience neuroscience Creativity Bridge graph theory Psychosis Control management |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key finding | Artists exhibited significantly higher aberrant salience scores than both healthy controls and patients with psychosis, suggesting aberrant salience may be linked to creativity rather than pathology alone. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Prior studies suggest a multifaceted relationship between creativity and psychopathology, indicating that mild psychopathology might enhance creative behavior. Moreover, similar brain regions may be implicated in both creativity and psychosis. Although aberrant salience (AS) is often associated with psychotic disorders, it could also enhance creative capabilities. This study assesses salience alterations among healthy individuals, artists, and patients with psychosis to investigate its influence on creativity. Three groups were studied: 196 healthy controls, 50 artists from Florence Academy of Fine Arts, and 84 outpatients with a diagnosis of psychosis. They were assessed with the Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI). We compared ASI scores among the groups using ANOVA, followed by post‐hoc t ‐tests, and adjusted the scores for age, gender, and education through ANCOVA. The ANOVA revealed significant differences in ASI scores among the groups, with artists displaying notably higher ASI scores than both controls and patients. ANCOVA confirmed that group membership was a significant factor influencing ASI scores, while age, gender, and education were not. Additionally, antipsychotic treatment did not significantly impact ASI scores among patients. Rather than an unequivocal marker of pathology, AS might also be interpreted as an anthropological asset, enhancing creative faculties alongside unique perceptual experiences. Education may help individuals in channeling their AS mechanisms through art.