Creativity helps with problem-solving, adapting to changes, and developing new ideas. Brain imaging studies have shown mixed results, and people with brain diseases have experienced both decreases and increases in creativity, making it unclear how creativity is connected to the brain.
A new study will examine the brain circuit responsible for creativity and how it relates to brain injuries and diseases.
Scientists at Mass General Brigham found that various brain regions activated during creative tasks are part of a single brain circuit. By analyzing data from 857 participants in 36 fMRI studies, they identified a brain circuit for creativity. They also discovered that people with brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases affecting this circuit may have increased creativity.
Co-senior author Michael D. Fox, MD, PhD, mentioned that complex behaviors like creativity don’t map to a specific brain region but do map to specific brain circuits.
The team examined fMRI data to find brain regions activated by creative activities like drawing, creative writing, and making music. They then looked at data from patients with brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases who experienced changes in creativity.
Creative People Have Better-Connected Brains
Julian Kutsche, MA, the first author of the paper, mentioned that some people with brain diseases show new creative behaviors that match specific damage patterns in the creativity circuit. He found it interesting that brain regions activated by creative tasks were negatively connected to the right frontal pole, a part of the brain important for monitoring and rule-based behaviors.
Reduced activity in the right frontal pole might support the idea that creativity involves shutting down a function. For example, creativity may require stopping self-censoring thoughts and allowing free-flowing ideas and associations. To be creative, you might need to turn off your inner critic to explore new directions and be open to making mistakes.
“These findings could help explain how some neurodegenerative diseases might lead to decreases in creativity while others may show a paradoxical increase in creativity,” Co-senior author Isaiah Kletenik, MD, a neurologist in the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital said. “It could also potentially add a pathway for brain stimulation to increase human creativity.”
“It is important to note that these findings do not represent the entire neural circuitry involved in creativity, adding that many different parts of the brain are involved in completing different creative tasks.”
“We are learning more about neurodiversity and how brain changes that are considered pathological may improve function in some ways,” he said. “These findings help us better understand how the circuitry of our brains may influence and unleash creativity.”
Journal Reference:
- Kutsche J. et al. “Creativity and Brain Disease: Mapping Neuroimaging Findings onto a Common Brain Circuit.” JAMA Network Open. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.59297
Source: Tech Explorist
