Leonardo da Vinci

For over a decade, my colleagues and I have studied historical figures who are regarded as with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For this project, biographies written by the historical figures themselves or by other authors from later generations are highly helpful. Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin are included in the list of more than 100 historical figures with ADHD that my research team has found. These two biographies were written by Walter Isaacson and my research team became interested in Walter Isaacson. Several days ago, I was in San Diego to attend an academic meeting [1], to which my travel plans and schedule were entirely devoted. On the way to the Los Angeles International Airport after the conference, I felt emptyheaded and had no more plans. Then, I thought “I need some free-floating curiosity.” After completing the departure procedures, I entered the duty free shop area, and found a bookstore signboard among the duty free shops of luxury brands, such as Hermes, Prada, and Rolex. I was curious to see what kind of expensive books they sold. Free-floating curiosity was then guaranteed by a thick biography of Leonardo da Vinci that I found, which struck me not only because its author was Walter Isaacson, but also because of the news that I read a while ago “Salvator Mundi, the long-lost painting of Jesus Christ by Leonardo da Vinci, which was commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, was sold at Christie’s in New York last November for USD 450.3 million including the auction house premium, shattering the world record for any work of art sold at auction [2].” Leonardo’s characteristics that are considered consistent with ADHD include 1) interest in diverse fields, 2) not being good enough with benefactors, 3) moving around cities without being able to settle in one place, and 4) failure to complete paintings for a long time. As I read the biography of Leonardo da Vinci’s written by Walter Isaacson, I got a lot of valuable information about the artist that I did not know before, including a detailed account of these characteristics. Before beginning to discuss such characteristics, it is necessary to keep in mind that the adversities faced in childhood can be a strong risk factor for the development of ADHD as the child grows [3]. Caterina, Leonardo’s biological mother, lost her parents at an early age and was an underclass poor. In her mid-teens, she met Piero, a wealthy notary in his early twenties, and gave birth to Leonardo. However, Piero married Albiera, who belonged to a wealthy family, before Caterina had Leonardo. Piero’s father then had Caterina marry Accattabriga, a kiln worker and farmer from the same village, as soon as Leonardo was born. They all lived in the same neighborhood. These adversities would perhaps have impacted Leonardo’s development. This biography shows how Leonardo eventually developed his multidisciplinary interest from relentless curiosities and distinguishing talents that are regarded as symptoms and signs of ADHD manifested in his adulthood. He has been involved in various fields, such as military engineering, anatomy, mathematics, architecture, hydraulics (study of water works), and mechanics. Nonetheless, his interest in other areas did not completely disrupt his previous work or research. For example, Leonardo’s anatomical study had a first round from 1487 to 1493. The second round was conducted between 1508 and 1513, including the dissection of an elderly man who was over 100 years old immediately after his death, with his consent. The third round occurred during his stay in Rome, between 1513 and 1516. From 1510 to 1511, in the midst of the second round of anatomical studies, Leonardo made 240 drawings and wrote at least 13000 words of text, illustration, and description of all the bones, muscle groups, and major organs of the human body. If these results were pubThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Leonardo da Vinci By Walter Isaacson. New York: Simon & Schuster;2017