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The Other Side of Genius
By Siegfried
Othmer, Ph.D.
September, 2001
Many parents find themselves challenged by children who, if genetics
were indeed in charge, should be doing well. Both parents see themselves
as reasonably functional adults, perhaps successful professionals,
and they sometimes wonder just why it is that their child is struggling
in school. Or both parents reflect on the fact that they were high
flyers during their early schooling, whereas their child is just
keeping up. Yet other children show promise in a variety of areas,
but seem to be struggling in one particular area that seems to hold
them back generally.
One explanation may in fact lie in the realm of genetics. Partners
often marry someone with similar tendencies: Impulsivity may be
a shared trait, and thrill-seeking behavior as well, particularly
among those who marry young. Parents may have had a shared interest,
dare we say it, in certain recreational drugs during their youth.
In other words, the styles of functioning of their brains may be
similar. Now it will be readily agreed that a certain degree of
obsessiveness can be helpful in achieving one's goals. And hypomania
comes close to defining the successful corporate personality these
days. When these tendencies compound from both the maternal and
paternal side to form the genetic endowment of the child, it should
not come as a surprise that some children are pushed over the cusp
of optimum performance into dysfunction. This we call "the
other side of genius."
If this possibly describes the situation in your own family, it
may be useful to try to understand your situation from the standpoint
of "shadow syndromes," the subclinical manifestation of
established clinical syndromes. The most common of these is of course
ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This is the most
commonly diagnosed disorder of childhood. Yet it is also clear that
many, if not most CEO's of startup enterprises would probably have
been diagnosed with ADHD in their youth if the diagnosis had existed
at that time. Clearly there is a certain good side to the condition.
The restlessness of ADHD in the classroom pays off in entrepreneurship.
There is a certain tolerance for risk-taking and adventuresomeness
that is positive in the new executive. The ADHD person has been
described as a "hunter in a farmer's world," geared to
novelty on the one hand, and undone by drudgery and routine on the
other. (See the books on ADHD by Thom Hartmann in this regard.)
In this view, ADHD is not so much a disorder as it is a style of
brain-functioning that is optimal for some challenges and not for
others. In some skills tests calling for quick judgments, for example,
ADHD children have been shown to excel.
So when the call comes from the teacher that your son should be
on Ritalin, the temptation may be to say, "He's ok, I was just
like that when I was young." That may be true, but it could
also be the case that your child is more challenged by his brain
than you were at his age. What might have been a shadow syndrome
in your own case could be a real challenge for your child. For reasons
not yet fully understood, our children seem to be facing greater
mental health challenges than was the case for earlier generations.
Some other conditions that can often masquerade as shadow syndromes
are Tourette Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder. Tourette Syndrome (TS)
is characterized by motor and vocal tics, and also by obsessive
and/or compulsive behavior. More fundamentally, however, one can
characterize the brain of a Touretter as being over-aroused, or
simply highly revved up. The above behaviors are simply expressions
of that over-excitability. In its shadow syndrome manifestation,
TS can lead to great professional success. There can be a steely
determination, a driven disposition, a thrill-seeking or risk-taking
orientation, relentless competitiveness, and the gift of high energy
level that won't quit. One can even be egged on by long-held grudges
that never seem to subside. Children endowed with the shadow syndromes
of their parents may face much more debilitating expressions of
TS---pronounced motor and vocal tics; stuttering; hair-pulling;
hyper-sexuality---that can lead to social rejection and profound
loss of self-esteem. This again is the other side of genius. The
first reference to the concept of "The Other Side of Genius"
was by David Comings, MD, in connection with Tourette Syndrome.
Then there is Bipolar Disorder. What may simply exist as long-term
mood swings in the shadow syndrome, leading to episodic bouts of
high creativity and exceptional productivity in the successful adult
may lead in the child to more problematic behavioral instabilities
that may show up as uncontrolled rages and wild swings in mood.
The usual medical remedies of stimulant and anti-depressant medication
do not suffice, and may even make things worse over the long term.
The newer remedies of mood stabilizers look to many like a life
sentence of under-achievement. People don't like how the medications
make them feel, and they report that they lose their edge. Once
children reach adulthood, these medications are often recklessly
abandoned. We have here another case of "the other side of
genius."
History has given us many examples of an intimate connection between
genius and dysfunction, particularly in connection with bipolar
disorder. This connection can possibly be explained by looking at
the brain as a control system. Any feedback control system obeys
the general rule that as higher overall gains are approached, the
system runs the risk of becoming unstable. If high mental performance
is connected with high gain, which would be no surprise, then the
correlation with brain instability would be explained. We are only
now starting to look at the brain's operating system, at the mechanisms
by which the brain arranges for its own stability. And on the basis
of these findings neuroscientists are now learning how to train
the brain to become more stable, even without medications.
These developments allow us to project that we will soon be able
to train the unstable brain both to function at a high level and
to maintain stability under challenge conditions. Hopefully, the
time will come when we can dispense with this particular Faustian
bargain, and ease the parental concern about the genetic endowment
they may have bequeathed their creative child.
References:
Comings, David M. "Tourette Syndrome and Human Behavior,"
Hope Press (Duarte, CA)
Hartmann, Thom, "Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception,"
with Edward M. Hallowell, MD, Underwood Books
Papolos, Demitri and Janice, "The Bipolar Child," Broadway
Books
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