Re: VMs: Fw: Hypergraphia

[Dennis <tsalagi@xxxxxxxx>]

	Hi, Barb.


> > 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. 

	I had heard about temporal lobe epilepsy.  I wasn't
aware that van Gogh had it.  He certainly sounds like
he had bipolar disorder.  I've known people who have
bipolar.  I know one  woman who's incredibly active
when she's manic - even though she's on medication.

> > 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. 

	I'd also heard about temporal lobe epilepsy being
associated with religious inspiration.  Some recent
neurologists speculate about a "God module" in the
brain, part of which is sections of the left temporal
lobe.  To me St. Paul sounds like he may have had
temporal lobe epilepsy.  He certainly sounds at least
hypomanic too.  

	I hadn't heard about erratic sexual activity, though.  

> > - 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.

	This sounds a bit more like the Voynich author(s). 
It's so organized though.  I'm not sure you'd expect
such a thing from a schizophrenic.  I'm not sure the
imagery is what you'd expect from such a person too. 
There's an article in "Psychiatry and Art" on James
Hampton that I'd like to read.  

> > 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."

	I've wondered and posted on possible psychiatric
illness in the Voynich author(s).  It seems
inconclusive to me.  The creative process seems much
the same for those with psychiatric disorders as those
without them.  I do think there's a good chance that
the VMs is "outsider art". 

Dennis
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