LAUSR

We came across the very interesting article by Yasmeen Cooper and Mark Agius (2018) questioning the fact whether neuropsychiatric symptoms of Van Gogh can be explained by schizoaffective disorder. Several articles have investigated the mental illness of Van Gogh and it’s still a matter of debate. Schizoaffective disorder, Meniere’s disease, tertiary syphilis, acute intermittent porphyria, lead and terpenoid poisoning, brain tumors, temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and Vascular dementia have been proposed as his underlying condition. However, most authorities believe that his symptoms cannot be explained with a single condition. Epilepsy is a common condition affecting more than 0.5 to 1% of world population and it is among the oldest recognized diseases, with written records dating back to 4000 BC. Several famous people in the fields of art, science, politics and religion are known to sustain epileptic disorders. Here in, we tend to describe temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), as a condition that may lead to ingenuity in humankind, with several historical instances and we particularly focus on the famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.