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Creativity in Music: The Brain Dynamics of Jazz Improvisation
Patricia Alves Da Mota1, Henrique Miguel Fernandes1, Ana Teresa Lourenço Queiroga1
1Center For Music in the Brain (MIB), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University/The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|September 27, 2025
Summary
Jazz improvisation reveals brain dynamics linked to creativity. Higher freedom in improvisation increased activity in reward, salience, and executive networks, offering insights into spontaneous creative behavior.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Music Cognition
Background:
- Jazz improvisation offers a unique model for studying spontaneous creative behavior.
- Understanding the neural underpinnings of creativity is a significant challenge in cognitive neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatiotemporal brain dynamics associated with varying levels of improvisational freedom in skilled jazz musicians.
- To identify neural signatures of creativity during jazz improvisation.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan 16 skilled jazz pianists.
- Leading Eigenvector Dynamics Analysis (LEiDA) was applied to analyze brain activity during different improvisation conditions (playing from memory, improvising on melody, free improvisation).
Main Results:
- Increased reward system activity (orbito-frontal cortex) was observed across all conditions compared to rest.
- Improvisation conditions showed a higher probability of brain states involving auditory, sensorimotor, and salience networks.
- The highest level of improvisation (free improvisation) exhibited increased co-occurrence of default mode, executive control, and language networks.
Conclusions:
- Varying degrees of improvisational freedom modulate brain network activity.
- The interplay of reward, salience, and executive control networks may underlie neural signatures of creativity in jazz improvisation.
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