The Real Neuroscience of Creativity

“Creativity does not involve a single brain region or single side of the brain. Instead, the entire creative process– from preparation to incubation to illumination to verification– consists of many interacting cognitive processes (both conscious and unconscious) and emotions. Depending on the stage of the creative process, and what you’re actually attempting to create, different brain regions are recruited to handle the task.” The Executive Attention Network is utilized when a task requires focused attention, such as engaging in problem solving, and working memory. The Imagination Network is used in social cognition and in “constructing dynamic mental simulations based on personal past experiences such as used during remembering, thinking about the future, and generally when imagining alternative perspectives and scenarios to the present.” The Salience Network monitors external events and stream of consciousness and selects the information that is most salient to solving the task at hand. Sometimes the networks work together, while other times collaboration negatively impacts the creative process. “Also, converging research findings do suggest that creative cognition recruits brain regions that are critical for daydreaming, imagining the future, remembering deeply personal memories, constructive internal reflection, meaning making, and social cognition.”  Read article