Leonardo da Vinci: A Neuropsychological Enigma or an Aberration?

Abstract

Introduction

It has been universally regarded that Leonardo da Vinci was one of the all-time geniuses in terms of his contribution to art and sciences. A number of theories have been proposed to explain his genius that range from neurological, psychological uniqueness, and enhanced functional intelligence.

Aim

The primary aim is to explore these theories in detail and register their pros and cons alongside contextualizing their credibility and weightage against the extant evidence in science.

Method

A detailed literature search has been undertaken to identify variety of models and theories either:

– dealing with neurological, psychological or neuro-philosophical explanations;

– have been proposed by psychiatrist or psychologist and neurologists pertaining to Leonardo's brain or mind;

– theories around occult and religion have been excluded.

Discussion

The results are synthesized and presented in a tabular form. The discussion expand son the various theories and the relevance of Leonardo da Vinci to the merging unified field of neurology, psychology, technology and philosophy (consciousness studies).

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.