Neuroscience of creativity or can the ungraspable be captured?

Abstract

Creativity is a particularly complex entity that can be best conceptualized along dimensions of opposite polarities. It can simultaneously be considered as a phenomenon that comprises a multitude of processes but also be interpreted as a complex construct which indeed does not have a uniformly accepted definition despite extensive literature on creativity. Creativity researchers of various approaches offer alongside methodological diversity a vast array of paradigms and definitions, leading, on the other hand, to contradictions of results. Nevertheless, the concept of creativity is to be maintained in the sense that it encompasses the ability to produce innovatively original, valuable, adaptive solutions breaking with pre-existing categories and developing unconventional alternatives. Since creativity cannot definitely be subject of scientific investigations as an overarching entity and its essence has not been grasped so far, some of its components can be measured and defined such as specific cognitive processes (divergent and convergent thinking, remote associations, conceptual expansion, working memory), motivational factors, emotional/affective conditions or personality traits considered as predictors of creative performance (schizotypal, autistic spectrum traits). Even though definitional inconsistencies persist, gradually neurobiological approaches have become the main issue of creativity research. Recently, the analysis of brain network activity applying methods of electrophysiology and brain imaging seems to promote the understanding of the functional localization of creative performance. Certain brain regions were initially identified as correlates of creativity, such as lateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobe, insula, striatum. More recent studies emphasize the activation and effective functional connectivity of large brain networks (default mode network, frontoparietal executive control, and others) as well as highlight the importance of their brain and neurochemical substrate (gray matter volume, white matter integrity, dopamine), connecting with cognitive processes of opposite style (flexibility versus persistence). While this paradigm seems to converge toward the delineation of a coherent neurobiological model of creativity, obviously we would not infer the essence of such a complex phenomenon from a simplified sub-process. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(18): 683-693.