Where do bright ideas occur in our brain? Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies of domain-specific creativity

Abstract

Many studies have assessed the neural underpinnings of creativity, failing to find a clear anatomical localization. We aimed to provide evidence for a multi-componential neural system for creativity. We applied a general activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to 45 fMRI studies. Three individual ALE analyses were performed to assess creativity in different cognitive domains (Musical, Verbal, and Visuo-spatial). The general ALE revealed that creativity relies on clusters of activations in the bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes. The individual ALE revealed different maximal activation in different domains. Musical creativity yields activations in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, in the left cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule and in the right postcentral and fusiform gyri. Verbal creativity yields activations mainly located in the left hemisphere, in the prefrontal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, postcentral and supramarginal gyri, middle occipital gyrus, and insula. The right inferior frontal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were also activated. Visuo-spatial creativity activates the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, the bilateral thalamus and the left precentral gyrus. This evidence suggests that creativity relies on multi-componential neural networks and that different creativity domains depend on different brain regions.

Creative constraints: Brain activity and network dynamics underlying semantic interference during idea production

“…The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), for example, has been implicated in studies of general creative cognitive processing (Chen et al, in press; Gonen-Yaacovi et al, 2013; Wu et al, 2015) and artistic performance (Beaty, 2015; Boccia et al, 2015; Pinho et al, 2014, 2016). DLPFC activation during creative task performance is thought to reflect the involvement of executive control processes (Beaty et al, 2016; Benedek et al, 2014a; Chen et al, 2015, in press).…”

Brain and soccer: Functional patterns of brain activity during the generation of creative moves in real soccer decision‐making situations

“…The specific aim of this study was to further assess neurocognitive mechanisms associated with creative solutions in realistic soccer decision‐making situations, and to compare these findings with existing functional imaging findings on creativity (Boccia, Piccardi, Palermo, Nori, & Palmiero, ; Gonen‐Yaacovi et al, ). Along with the related EEG study (Fink et al, ), this functional imaging study sought to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the manifold neurocognitive mechanisms involved in the generation of creative solutions in this domain.…”

“…Gonen‐Yaacovi et al, ). On the other hand, relevant creativity literature also clearly indicates that creativity and its neural underpinnings are specific to a particular domain (Baer, ; Boccia et al, ). For instance, studies in the visual creativity domain (e.g., Aziz‐Zadeh, Liew, & Dandekar, ; Pidgeon et al, ; Rominger et al, ) provide consistent evidence of the involvement of brain networks supporting visuospatial processes and motor related imagery.…”

Un estudio exploratorio de la relación entre la inteligencia musical, viso-espacial, corporal-cinestésica y creatividad motriz en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje

“…Por último, la creatividad musical ubica su activación en la circunvolución cingular izquierda, giro frontal medio y medial bilateral, lóbulo parietal inferior y en el giro poscentral derecho y fusiforme. Por ello, estos autores concluyen con la afirmación de que en función de los diversos dominios de creatividad se activan distintas regiones cerebrales (Boccia et al, 2015).…”