Mental navigation and the neural mechanisms of insight

Abstract

How do new ideas come about? The central hypothesis presented here states that insights happen during mental navigation and correspond to rapid plasticity at the cellular level. We highlight the differences between neocortical and hippocampal mechanisms of insight. We argue that the suddenness of insight can be related to the sudden emergence of place fields in the hippocampus. According to our hypothesis, insights are supported by a state of mind-wandering that can be tied to the process of combining knowledge pieces during sharp-wave ripples. Our framework connects the dots between research on creativity, mental navigation, and specific synaptic plasticity mechanisms in the hippocampus.