Recently, a 2009 case study released in the journal Neurocase described the peculiar artistic emergence of a former lawyer in his early 50’s. Out of nowhere he quit his job, moved in with his mother, developed some unusual habits…and became a highly skilled prolific visual artist.
What doctors diagnosed was frontotemporal dementia, which occurs when there is shrinkage of the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes. According to the article posted on Fox News, this occurrence in the brain is “the second most common cause of early-onset dementia” which also “brings on personality change and a neglect of social decorum.” In this patient, among a growing number of others, their dementia unleashed a creative and artistic prowess that seemingly wasn’t there before.
Today, modern neuroimaging is being conducted to help discover why dementia could have such a powerful influence on creativity.
Article source: “How Dementia Can Unlock Creativity In Some People” Republished on Fox News. Original article by: Eliezer J. Sternberg