Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 15, 2026
13:12
Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping
Published on: August 12, 2019
46.3K
Mapping the brain networks underlying creativity enhancement via aesthetic experience
Chao Huo1, Chenzhi Li2, Ke Ding3
1School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
European Journal of Medical Research
|October 15, 2025
Summary
Aesthetic experiences boost creativity by engaging brain networks like the default mode network (DMN) and executive control network (ECN). These networks dynamically interact across creative stages, from generation to expression, with the reward system (RS) sustaining motivation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroaesthetics
Background:
- Aesthetic experiences are thought to enhance creativity.
- The specific neural mechanisms underlying this link are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key brain networks involved in aesthetic-driven creativity.
- To review evidence for their roles in different creative stages.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review.
- Analysis of brain network activation during creative processes.
- Examination of the interplay between networks.
Main Results:
- Five key brain networks (DMN, ECN, SN, SMN, RS) are proposed to support creativity.
- Dynamic interactions between these networks facilitate creative generation, evaluation, and expression.
- The reward system (RS) plays a crucial role in motivation and persistence.
Conclusions:
- Creativity emerges from the dynamic reconfiguration of multiple brain networks, not isolated regions.
- Understanding these neural mechanisms offers insights into enhancing creative potential.
Related Concept Videos
01:29The Influence of Affect on Cognition
262
Positive affect significantly influences cognitive processes, including evaluation, memory, creativity, and social judgments. Compared to negative affect, positive emotional states promote more favorable interpretations of stimuli, cognitive flexibility, and heuristic processing. These effects highlight emotions' powerful role in shaping how individuals perceive, remember, and interact with the world.Influence on Evaluation and AttributionWhen individuals experience positive affect, they are...
262
01:19High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
627
Controlled processes in human consciousness represent high-alert mental states where individuals deliberately focus their attention on achieving specific goals. Controlled processes can be seen in situations like mastering new technology, where a person might become so absorbed that they ignore surrounding distractions. Such processes involve selective attention, requiring one to concentrate on particular elements of experience while disregarding others. These are governed by executive...
627
01:14Brain Imaging
663
Brain imaging technologies provide critical insights into both the structure and function of the human brain, enabling medical professionals and researchers to diagnose, study, and treat neurological disorders or psychiatric disorders more effectively.
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic...
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic...
663
01:01Neuroplasticity
1.6K
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
1.6K