The document discusses the cognitive neuroscience processes behind creativity. It summarizes that creativity involves the interaction of several brain regions and networks rather than a single area. The key networks involved are the executive attention network for focus, the default or imagination network for memory and idea generation, and the salience network for switching between the other two. Different tasks in the creative process recruit different regions - for example, the prefrontal cortex is important for evaluation and refinement while default regions are important for initial idea generation. Creativity relies on the flexible interaction and balance between these brain networks.

1. Creativity
Cognitive
Neuroscience

2. Processes BehindCreativity
1.Attention “Both for focusing in deep work and sustaining oneself
through thick and thin to finish the creative work, and for flexibly
searching in memory and one’s environment for crucial clues to the
puzzle.”
2.Analogy/metaphorical thinking “For connecting knowledge bits
that might seem unrelated.”
3.Network organization of memory “With spreading activation
and susceptibility of these activation patterns to be altered by
external input, e.g., Priming can overcome Functional fixedness.”
4.Forgetting “Natural tendency of memories to decay over time (this
might be why Incubation helps when you are stuck on a problem,
forgetting allows for unproductive thought patterns to decay and stop
hogging memory space)”
5.Imagination “Capacity to construct multiple construals of stimuli,
and to flexibly combine bits of memory into novel representations”
http://creativesomething.net/post/57423335221/what-neuroscience-teaches-us-about-
creativity

3. The Brain
Creativity doesn’t involve a single brain region or single
side of brain
Entire creative process consists of many interacting
cognitive processes and emotions
Depending on the stage of of the creative process, and
what you’re trying to create, different brain regions are
used, that work as a team to get the job done

4. Different tasks…
When you mentally rotate a physical image in your
mind, you use Dorsal Attention / Visuospatial
Network
If the task involves language, Broca’s area and
Wernicke’s area are more likely to be recruited
For creative cognition, three networks are critical
ExecutiveAttention Network
Imagination Network
Salience Network
(default network)

5. Brain and Creative Thinking
Attention Control Network
Helps us focus
Imagination Network
Remember the past
Imagine the future
Construct mental images
Attentional Flexibility Network
Monitoring things around us and inside brains
Switching between earlier two

6. Executive Control (“attention") Network
Recruited when a task requires externally directed
attention, including working memory, relation
integration and task-switching.
Used more in the second phase of creativity – focusing
on, checking and sharpening the final product, rather
than the initial freeform creative process.
Comprises lateral prefrontal and anterior inferior parietal
regions.

7. Default (“imagination”) Network
Involved 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." Buckner et al.
Activated in the absence of external stimuli, spontaneous and
self-generated thoughts (mind wondering, mental simulation,
social cognition, autobiographical retrieval, episodic future
thinking).
Involves areas deep inside the prefrontal cortex and temporal
lobe (medial regions), along with communication with
various outer and inner regions of the parietal cortex.

8. Salience Network
The Salience Network constantly monitors both
external events and the internal stream of
consciousness and flexibly passes the baton to whatever
information is most salient to solving the task at hand.
This network consists of the dorsal anterior cingulate
cortices (dACC) and anterior insular and is
important for dynamic switching between networks.

9. Attention Control Network
and Imagination Network

10. Domain-General Creative Thinking
Divergent Thinking
Beaty et al. 2015
Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) shows
increased connectivity with
regions of the control [dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex (DLPFC)] and salience (insula) networks
Tasks: Generation alternative uses
for everyday life objects vs.
properties of everyday objects.
Functional connectivity of default, control and
salience networks

11. Domain-Specific Creative Thinking
Artistic Creative Performance
Pinho et al. 2015
Piano musical improvisations
Goal of using specific set of
keys (visuospatial memory
demand)
Increased Coupling between
right DLPFC and motor regions.
Goal of using expressing
specific emotions (lower
explicit attention demand)
Increased coupling between
right DLPFC and default
network regions
DLPFC may exert a top-down influence over generative processes
stemming from the default network during the strategic
expression of emotionally based improvisation.

12. Domain-Specific Creative Thinking
Artistic Creative Performance
Liu et al. 2015
Poetry Generation and Revision
Functional networks
Default network regions [medial
prefrontal cortex (MPFC)]
Control network regions
[dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex (DLPFC) and
intraparietal sulcus (IPS)]
Stage 1: Generation of
poetry. Clusters 2 and
4 were negatively
correlated
Stage 2: Revision of
poetry:. Correlation
increased

13. Brain Networks and Creative Cognition
Beaty et al. 2016
Creative thought involves similar cognitive and neural mechanisms
as other forms of goal directed, self-generated cognition (e.g.,
autobiographical future planning
A primary function of the default network is episodic memory
retrieval. Memory systems have a key role in the generation of
candidate ideas.
The default network influences the generation of candidate ideas.
Cognitive control systems can be recruited to evaluate and modify
candidate ideas to meet specific goals.
The control network can constrain and direct this process to
meet task-specific goals via top-down
monitoring and executive control.