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Madness Redefined: Creativity, Intelligence and the Dark Side of the Mind

Date & Time

Thursday, May 31, 2012
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
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Location

The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College

The notion of a “tortured genius” or “mad scientist” may be more than a romantic aberration. Research shows that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia correlate with high creativity and intelligence, raising tantalizing questions: What role does environment play in the path to mental illness? Are so-called mental defects being positively selected for in the gene pool? Where’s the line between gift and deficit? As studies mount supporting the storied link between special aptitudes and mental illnesses, science is reexamining the shifting spectrum between brilliance and madness.

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This program is part of The Big Idea Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Moderator

  • Cynthia McFadden

    Cynthia McFadden is co-anchor of the celebrated news broadcast, Nightline. For the past 18 years, she has travelled the world reporting for ABC News. Her distinguished work has won many of broadcasting's most coveted awards including the Emmy, the Peabody, the Dupont and the Foreign Press Award. More »

Participants

  • James Fallon

    Neuroscientist James (Jim) Fallon is professor of psychiatry and human behavior and emeritus professor of anatomy and neurobiology in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. In addition to his research on adult stem cell therapies for neurological disorders, he is involved in the transdisciplinary center for imaging genetics, and was national scientific coordinator for the NIH FBIRN (Functional Brain Imaging Center) from 2000-2010. His present specialties in the field are the imaging genetic correlates and gene discovery in schizophrenia, depression, addictions, gender differences, AD, PD, and brains of psychopaths, where he has analyzed the brains of murderers. You can reach Professor Fallon at jfallon@uci.edu. More »

  • Kay Redfield Jamison

    Psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison has been called a “hero of medicine” for turning her own struggle with manic-depression into a lifelong career researching the illness and its treatment. More »

  • Susan McKeown

    Singer, Songwriter One of the strongest, most expressive voices to have come out of Ireland belongs to Dublin native Susan McKeown. More »

  • Elyn Saks

    Mental Health Law Professor Elyn Saks’ work focuses on the legal and ethical issues surrounding mental illness—something she has decades of personal experience with. More »

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