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Creativity as a distinct trainable mental state: An EEG study of musical improvisation
Joel A Lopata1, Elizabeth A Nowicki1, Marc F Joanisse1
1The University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Neuropsychologia
|March 22, 2017
Summary
Creative mental states in musicians involve increased frontal upper alpha-band activity during improvisation. Formal improvisation training enhances this effect, correlating with higher quality musical performances.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Music Cognition
Background:
- Creative mental states are complex and their neural correlates are not fully understood.
- The role of alpha-band electroencephalography (EEG) in indexing cognitive processes, particularly creativity, requires further investigation.
- Musical improvisation offers a unique paradigm for studying real-time creative processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between frontal upper alpha-band EEG activity and creative mental states during musical tasks in skilled musicians.
- To compare neural responses during high and low creativity demands (improvisation vs. playback).
- To examine the influence of formal improvisation training on these neural correlates of creativity.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record frontal upper alpha-band activity in skilled musicians.
- Participants engaged in tasks involving listening, playback, and improvisation of jazz melodies.
- Neural responses were analyzed and compared between musicians with and without formal improvisation training.
Main Results:
- Increased frontal upper alpha-band activity was observed during more creative tasks (improvisation) compared to less creative tasks (playback).
- This alpha-band activity increase was most pronounced in musicians with formal improvisation training.
- The magnitude of the upper alpha-band effect correlated significantly with the quality of musical improvisations.
Conclusions:
- Frontal upper alpha-band activity serves as a neural marker for creative mental states in musicians.
- Formal improvisation training may enhance the neural capacity for spontaneous musical processing.
- Creativity can be conceptualized as a distinct mental state influenced by specific training.
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