VMs: Fw: Hypergraphia

["Barbara Barrett" <barbarabarrett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all ;-).
I thought this may be of interest.
BB

----- Original Message -----

> http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1171195,00.html
>
> Telling a tale with too many words
>
> Chantal Martineau explores hypergraphia, a rare compulsion to keep writing
>
> Thursday March 18, 2004
> The Guardian
>
> ...
> Hypergraphia is most commonly associated with temporal lobe epilepsy, a
type
> associated with repetitive, automatic movements in a high proportion of
> cases. First identified by the godfather of modern psychiatry Elim
Kraepelin
> some 100 years ago, hypergraphia has plagued (or blessed, depending on
one's
> perspective) some of our most prolific authors. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was
> probably a temporal lobe epileptic, as was Vincent van Gogh, who at his
peak
> produced a canvas every 36 hours, writing his brother Theo up to three
> evocatively detailed six-page letters daily. Sylvia Plath suffered severe
> PMS, a condition that was known to intensify her bipolar disorder. Not
only
> were many of her grimmest poems written at this point in her menstrual
> cycle, but she also committed suicide during a particularly difficult
spell.
> ...
> Although not a terribly frequent manifestation of temporal lobe epilepsy,
> when detected it often accompanies an inflated sense of divine inspiration
> referred to as hyperreligiosity, as well as increased or erratic sexual
> activity and emotional volatility. Another major cause of hypergraphia is
> manic depression or bipolar disorder. Although the two illnesses are
largely
> unrelated - the first a neurological disorder, the second a psychiatric
one
> - their overlapping symptoms often mean one is mistaken for the other.
> Schizophrenics and patients diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia can
also
> experience a compulsive drive to write.
>
> A rudimentary explanation of what compels humans to create can be found in
a
> basic map of the brain. Writing alone involves a combination of several
> faculties. The cerebral cortex, grey matter comprising the outer layer of
> the brain, plays a role in the ability to write. Drive is more controlled
by
> the limbic system buried deep under the cortex. The limbic system, most
> closely related to the temporal lobes located behind the ears, governs
> emotion and, arguably, inspiration. It's also what regulates our innate
need
> to communicate.
>
> Studies conducted in the past decade found a high proportion of depressive
> poets, novelists, composers and visual artists when compared to people in
> non-creative professions. So, is a certain degree of mental instability, a
> glitch in the brain, necessary to be an artist? Perhaps not. After all,
> countless mentally and emotionally healthy artists tell us otherwise. Yet
> many creative people believe their mood or brain disorders facilitate
their
> work. As the writer Robert Burton said: "All poets are mad."
>
> Lesions on the temporal lobe cause TLE. Although it tends to run in the
> family, there is no known cause of manic depression. In both instances,
> however, the hypergraphic writer generally does not wish to be cured. In
> fact, many hypergraphics are quite content with their condition. Unlike
> writer's block, it isn't painful.
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