ABSTRACT
The fine line between genius and psychosis: Myth or reality? I am struck by how many non-specialists, on learning that I study the relationship between intelligence and risk for mental disorders, immediately cite an example of a friend or relative who has achieved great intellectual success, but then developed a devastating psychotic illness. Many people assume that a link between genius and madness is well established, and are surprised to hear that the bulk of the evidence is very much to the contrary-most psychiatric conditions, in particular psychotic disorders, are associated with poor performance on cognitive tests.
