Abstract
(1) Background: Literature suggests that high levels of dopamine are associated with creative thoughts. Tourette Syndrome (TS) patients have high dopamine levels, while Parkinson’s Disease (PD) subjects have low dopamine levels. Consequently, TS individuals are supposed to have a major and PD patients less creative output. Moreover, dopamine medications may alter the level of creativity, and therefore Quality of Life, in both pathologies. (2) Methods: The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis of TS patients having higher creative scores than PD patients. The assessment consisted of the administration of the Creative Thinking ASK Test. There were 54 participants—36 males and 18 females—i.e., 27 TS patients and 27 PD subjects. Age of the sample was 35 to 57 years old, high school certificate was required. (3) Results: TS sample (103.11 ASK average score) was more creative than PD sample (94.11 ASK average score). (4) Conclusions: The results supported the aforementioned hypothesis: TS sample resulted in having higher creative scores than PD sample. Dopamine and other neurotransmitters of TS and PS appear to affect subject’s creativity. Further studies with creative assessments in TS and PD patients are needed to support the preliminary results of our study.
Highlights
This study supported our hypothesis of highlighting a predisposition to creativity in patients with Tourette Syndrome (TS) rather than in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients
TS creative scores were higher than PD creative scores; the aim of the study has been reached
Creativity can be a useful element for the differential diagnosis of TS and PD
Summary
Once believed to be a rare disease, Tic Disorders [1]—including Tourette Syndrome—make up 1%. Of the population, and up to 20% in childhood [2]. The disorder mainly affects males by a male to female ratio of 3–4:1; TS begins before age 18, usually around age 6 [3]. The disorder often increases in severity peaking in the prepubertal period, while in adulthood, in 50–75% of cases, tics improve dramatically [4,5,6,7]. TS studies showed high correlations of tics with behavioural disorders such as Attention. Basal ganglia and substantia nigra are considered the neuroanatomical regions associated with Tourette Syndrome (TS), Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and other movement disorders
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