<p>I was reading on the increased likelihood of mental disorders with high IQ. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bad-news-for-the-highly-intelligent/" rel="noreferrer">Bad News for the Highly Intelligent</a>.  I'm not sure I buy into the arguments completely but it does make me think that High IQ could be a disorder in itself.  Assuming an average IQ is the optimum operating condition for a healthy brain, any significant deviation from that would mean the brain is operating outside its &quot;designed&quot; parameters.  I imagine it's similar to a cpu running at an increased clock speed.  It will be beneficial for in the short term for the user but wear and tear will take its toll eventually.</p>
<p>Furthermore, I would think that brains working at either extremes low and high IQ would have similar predispositions toward mental illness and would differ only in the types of disorders.</p>
<p>My question is, in practice how does High IQ come into play when treating mental illness and diagnosis?  Some medication has a negative impact on cognition, does that also help in patients with High IQ?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-03T12:07:35.727Z
Somewhat tangential...
There have been a number of genetic manipulations that have created smarter rodents (starting with work from Tonogawa). It could be interesting to see if those have any side-effects.
cosine
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-03T19:10:49.417Z
I agree, it would be interesting to look at a mouse model to look for parallels even without manipulating genetics.  Select for intelligence through testing and evaluate anxiety levels.
Felix Castor
<intelligence><mental-illness>
Is High IQ equivalently a disorder like Low IQ
Felix Castor
# Is High IQ equivalently a disorder like Low IQ

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-26)

I was reading on the increased likelihood of mental disorders with high IQ. [Bad News for the Highly Intelligent](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bad-news-for-the-highly-intelligent/). I'm not sure I buy into the arguments completely but it does make me think that High IQ could be a disorder in itself. Assuming an average IQ is the optimum operating condition for a healthy brain, any significant deviation from that would mean the brain is operating outside its "designed" parameters. I imagine it's similar to a cpu running at an increased clock speed. It will be beneficial for in the short term for the user but wear and tear will take its toll eventually.

Furthermore, I would think that brains working at either extremes low and high IQ would have similar predispositions toward mental illness and would differ only in the types of disorders.

My question is, in practice how does High IQ come into play when treating mental illness and diagnosis? Some medication has a negative impact on cognition, does that also help in patients with High IQ?

**Tags:** intelligence, mental-illness

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Somewhat tangential... There have been a number of genetic manipulations that have created smarter rodents (starting with work from Tonogawa). It could be interesting to see if those have any side-effects.  
> **username_0**: I agree, it would be interesting to look at a mouse model to look for parallels even without manipulating genetics.  Select for intelligence through testing and evaluate anxiety levels.  

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## 0 answers

