I've taken Adderall/Vyvanse/Ritalin/etc. on and off over the years for ADD/motivation. From research, it seems to me like a lot of people (if not most) suffer creatively while taking these drugs. I've meanwhile always felt that I have more (and better) ideas when taking them. I'm wondering if I'm actually in the minority of people who don't suffer creatively, or if this is more common than I was aware.
Beyond that, I'm just wondering if anyone knows chemically how creativity is affected by these drugs. My understanding is that they increase dopamine and norepinephrine, but research on that seems to show that, yeah, creatively is often hindered by higher amounts of these.
So I guess the second question is... Do some people (like me) just respond creatively to dopamine and norepinephrine increases, or is it possible that for us, these drugs work on different pathways or release different chemicals?
Beyond that, I'm just wondering if anyone knows chemically how creativity is affected by these drugs. My understanding is that they increase dopamine and norepinephrine, but research on that seems to show that, yeah, creatively is often hindered by higher amounts of these.
So I guess the second question is... Do some people (like me) just respond creatively to dopamine and norepinephrine increases, or is it possible that for us, these drugs work on different pathways or release different chemicals?
). In the frontal cortex, the right amount of dopamine allows you to maintain concentration, but too much will actually disrupt your working memory and create a very inflexible focus, which is obviously bad for creativity. So there are a lot of factors at play, and simple interpersonal differences mediate the net result. Some people may be more creative and others less. Also, note that ritalin is generally much better at hindering creativity than amphetamine.