Since the seventies, physicians have reported a curious side effect among people with Parkinson’s: a sudden surge in creativity. This phenomenon is often linked to dopamine agonists—medications used to treat motor symptoms of Parkinson’s by compensating for the brain’s loss of dopamine-producing cells. But if creativity could be more than a side effect, it could be part of the treatment as well.
Together with neurologist Bas Bloem, epidemiologist Sirwan Darweesh and artist Marjoke Plijnaer, Spee investigated how creativity interacts with Parkinson’s—both as a potential outcome and as a therapeutic tool. In a recent publication in Nature npj Parkinson’s Disease, their team surveyed nearly 800 people with Parkinson’s. Remarkably, 41% reported a noticeable change in their creativity after diagnosis—sometimes an increase, sometimes a decrease. Notably, people taking dopamine agonists were significantly more likely to report enhanced creative drive.
But this was not just about “great art.” Spee’s team looked at what she calls “everyday creativity”: experimenting in the kitchen, tinkering in the shed, or inventing new ways to communicate. “It’s not about artistic talent,” she explains. “It’s also about cognitive flexibility skills and experiencing autonomy—seeing new possibilities, adapting, finding meaning in new forms.”
Creativity programme
Building on these findings, the team developed a “playground for the mind” in collaboration with researcher Jur Koksma from the transformative learning science a creative engagement programme. Over the course of ten weeks, people with Parkinson’s were invited to explore different creative outlets: painting, music, fashion design, and more. While traditional therapy focuses on motor skills or medication, this approach gives the brain a chance to ‘rewire’ itself—boosting dopamine and activating areas involved in attention, reward, and learning through creative exploration.
“During creative activities, participants often enter a state of deep focus—a flow,” says Plijnaer. “That state is associated with an optimal balance in activity between the prefrontal cortex—linked to planning and focus—and deeper brain regions like the striatum, involved in motivation and a sense of reward. It’s like a natural boost for the brain.”
And the impact goes beyond biology. Participants report increased self-worth, joy, and emotional resilience. One of them, Sibolt Hulsbergen, creates complex, abstract works now exhibited in Nijmegen’s Parkinson expertise centre. His work may soon be on display at the Brain Museum, where Spee and her collaborators plan to connect neuroscience and art in an immersive exhibition about creativity, flow, and even the environmental causes of neurodegeneration.
Funding
These studies were partly funded by Mariette Blau Scholarship, Austrian Science Fund (FWF, CM 1100-B, Unlocking the Muse), PRIME project (Gatsby Foundation GAT3676) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs via the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health. The Center of Expertise for Parkinson & Movement Disorders received a center of excellence grant from the Parkinson Foundation. Funders had no role in the study’s design, data handling, or publication decision.
What’s next?
The team is refining tools to better measure creativity in people with Parkinson’s—including interviews, behavioural tasks and cognitive flexibility tests. “We want to understand the mechanisms,” says Spee. “But more importantly, we want to give people tools to stay mentally active, curious, and connected.”
