The neural network responsible for creativity was discovered in the brain
Neuroscientists say they have identified a large-scale neural network that keeps creativity flowing in the brain.
Unlike specific movements or sensory responses, creative thinking is not confined to any part of the brain's wrinkled outer cortex, but a group of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine researchers think they have found the underlying brain circuits responsible for some types of creativity.
When nine adult participants temporarily suppressed certain parts of their default mode network (DMN) through deep brain stimulation, they were no longer able to think as out-of-the-box and creatively.
In neuroscience, a default mode network is a large-scale brain network that contains regions whose activity is highly correlated and yet isolated from other brain networks. The default mode network has been observed mostly when the person is not focused on the external world and when they are in a state of rest during wakefulness.
The default mode network is activated when the mind wanders freely from one thought to another. This structure is perfect for thinking outside the box and making connections between seemingly distant concepts to generate unique ideas or solutions in a spontaneous, free-flowing way.
Previous brain imaging studies linked default mode network activity to creative thoughts, but in 2022, neurosurgeon Ben Shofti and colleagues were the first to find a link between the two.
When neuroscientists removed brain tumors from volunteer patients, they found that electrical inhibition of the default mode network interrupted the participants' creative flow, and the volunteers could no longer think as creatively as before.
Working with the University of Utah, Ben Shofti and colleagues demonstrated a similar effect in participants undergoing aggressive epilepsy monitoring.
This advanced technique relies on implanted brain electrodes and allows scientists to perform deep brain stimulation on specific neural networks and see what happens to the electrical activity.
Unlike fMRI studies, which infer brain activity through blood oxygen flow, electroencephalograms directly measure the electrical activity of neurons in the moment. Electrodes implanted in the brain are even more sensitive than electrodes affixed to the skull.
In the present study, 13 epileptic patients with implanted electrodes were asked to use an everyday item as many times as they could. They had one minute to do it.
We can see what happens in the first few milliseconds of trying to do creative thinking, says Shofti.
The default mode network was the first part of the brain to light up, and shortly thereafter, it coordinated its activity with other brain regions, such as those involved in problem solving and decision making.
Shofti thinks this is a sign that the default mode network is retrieving and sifting through different types of information to generate new ideas before sending them off for judgment by other areas involved in critical thinking.
This top-down cognition allows the brain to sift through disproportional associations and select useful and novel thoughts, the researchers say.
Recent findings help explain why taking a shower and allowing the mind to unwind can be beneficial in generating novel ideas and solutions.
The researchers found that among all 13 participants, certain parts of the default mode network were specifically associated with lateral thinking, while others were more associated with mind wandering.
Using implanted electrodes to temporarily suppress parts of the default mode network associated with lateral thinking made it harder for patients to learn new uses for everyday things, but their mind wandering remained intact.
“We went beyond the correlative evidence by using direct brain stimulation,” says neurosurgeon Eleonora Bartoli of Baylor College of Medicine. Our findings highlight the role of the default mode network in creative thinking.
The study was published in the journal Brain.
