Creative Minds: Altered Salience as a Bridge Between Creativity and Psychosis, a Case–Control Study

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.