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Layover or nonstop? Unique pattern of connectivity lets highly creative people's brains take road less traveled to their destination
A new study led by UCLA Health scientists shows highly creative people's brains appear to work differently from others', with an atypical approach that makes distant connections more quickly by bypassing the "hubs" seen in non-creative brains.
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Exceptionally creative visual artists and scientists -- called "Big C" creative types -- volunteered to undergo functional MRI brain imaging, giving researchers in psychiatry, behavioral sciences and psychology a look at how regions of the brain connected and interacted when called upon to perform tasks that put creative thinking to the test.
"Our results showed that highly creative people had unique brain connectivity that tended to stay off the beaten path," said Ariana Anderson, a professor and statistician at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, the lead author of a new article in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts . While non-creatives tended to follow the same routes across the brain, the highly creative people made their own roads.
Although the concept of creativity has been studied for decades, little is known about its biological bases, and even less is understood about the brain mechanisms of exceptionally creative people, said senior author Robert Bilder, director of the Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity at the Semel Institute. This uniquely designed study included highly creative people representing two different domains of creativity -- visual arts and the sciences -- and used an IQ-matched comparison group to identify markers of creativity, not just intelligence. The researchers analyzed how connections were made between brain regions globally and locally.
"Exceptional creativity was associated with more random connectivity at the global scale -- a pattern that is less 'efficient' but would appear helpful in linking distant brain nodes to each other," Bilder said. "The patterns in more local brain regions varied, depending on whether people were performing tasks. Surprisingly, Big C creatives had more efficient local processing at rest, but less efficient local connectivity when performing a task demanding 'thinking outside the box.'"
Using airline route maps for comparison, the researchers said the Big C creatives' brain activity is akin to skipping flights to connecting hubs to get to a small city.
"In terms of brain connectivity, while everyone else is stuck in a three-hour layover at a major airport, the highly creatives take private planes directly to a distant destination," Anderson said. "This more random connectivity may be less efficient much of the time, but the architecture enables brain activity to 'take a road less traveled' and make novel connections."
Bilder, who has more than 30 years' experience researching brain-behavior relations, said, "The fact that Big C people had more efficient local brain connectivity, but only under certain conditions, may relate to their expertise. Consistent with some of our prior findings, they may not need to work as hard as other smart people to perform certain creative tasks."
The artists and scientists in the study were nominated by panels of experts before being validated as exceptional based on objective metrics. The "smart" comparison group was recruited from participants in a previous UCLA study who had agreed to be contacted for possible participation in future studies, and from advertisements in the community for individuals with graduate degrees. The researchers made efforts to ensure that age, sex, race and ethnicity were comparable to those of participants in the Big C groups.
In addition to Bilder and Anderson, authors include Kevin Japardi, a data intelligence analyst at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Kendra Knudsen, a researcher in psychology at UCLA; Susan Bookheimer, a researcher in psychiatry, behavioral sciences and psychology at UCLA; and Dara Ghahremani, a researcher in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UCLA.
The research was funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (42052) awarded to Robert Bilder, and by the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Center for the Biology of Creativity. The authors thank the Staglin IMHRO Center for Cognitive Neuroscience for their support and assistance. Ariana Anderson holds a Career Award at the Scientific Interface from Burroughs Wellcome Fund.
The authors report no additional disclosures or potential conflicts of interest.
RELATED TOPICS Mind & Brain Creativity Intelligence Brain-Computer Interfaces Psychology Science & Society STEM Education Privacy Issues Transportation Issues Urbanization
RELATED TERMS The arts Brain Synesthesia Genius Interpersonal relationship Collaboration Alzheimer's disease Animal cognition
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Materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference :
Ariana Anderson, Kevin Japardi, Kendra S. Knudsen, Susan Y. Bookheimer, Dara G. Ghahremani, Robert M. Bilder. Big-C creativity in artists and scientists is associated with more random global but less random local fMRI functional connectivity. . Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , 2022; DOI: 10.1037/aca0000463
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Follow: Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. Subscribe: RSS Feeds. advertisement. 2. Layover or nonstop? Unique pattern of connectivity lets highly creative people's brains take road less traveled to their destination. Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest. LinkedIN. Email. A new study led by UCLA Health scientists shows highly creative people's brains appear to work differently from others', with an atypical approach that makes distant connections more quickly by bypassing the "hubs" seen in non-creative brains. advertisement. Exceptionally creative visual artists and scientists -- called "Big C" creative types -- volunteered to undergo functional MRI brain imaging, giving researchers in psychiatry, behavioral sciences and psychology a look at how regions of the brain connected and interacted when called upon to perform tasks that put creative thinking to the test. "Our results showed that highly creative people had unique brain connectivity that tended to stay off the beaten path," said Ariana Anderson, a professor and statistician at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, the lead author of a new article in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts . While non-creatives tended to follow the same routes across the brain, the highly creative people made their own roads. Although the concept of creativity has been studied for decades, little is known about its biological bases, and even less is understood about the brain mechanisms of exceptionally creative people, said senior author Robert Bilder, director of the Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity at the Semel Institute. This uniquely designed study included highly creative people representing two different domains of creativity -- visual arts and the sciences -- and used an IQ-matched comparison group to identify markers of creativity, not just intelligence. The researchers analyzed how connections were made between brain regions globally and locally. "Exceptional creativity was associated with more random connectivity at the global scale -- a pattern that is less 'efficient' but would appear helpful in linking distant brain nodes to each other," Bilder said. "The patterns in more local brain regions varied, depending on whether people were performing tasks. Surprisingly, Big C creatives had more efficient local processing at rest, but less efficient local connectivity when performing a task demanding 'thinking outside the box.'" Using airline route maps for comparison, the researchers said the Big C creatives' brain activity is akin to skipping flights to connecting hubs to get to a small city. "In terms of brain connectivity, while everyone else is stuck in a three-hour layover at a major airport, the highly creatives take private planes directly to a distant destination," Anderson said. "This more random connectivity may be less efficient much of the time, but the architecture enables brain activity to 'take a road less traveled' and make novel connections." Bilder, who has more than 30 years' experience researching brain-behavior relations, said, "The fact that Big C people had more efficient local brain connectivity, but only under certain conditions, may relate to their expertise. Consistent with some of our prior findings, they may not need to work as hard as other smart people to perform certain creative tasks." The artists and scientists in the study were nominated by panels of experts before being validated as exceptional based on objective metrics. The "smart" comparison group was recruited from participants in a previous UCLA study who had agreed to be contacted for possible participation in future studies, and from advertisements in the community for individuals with graduate degrees. The researchers made efforts to ensure that age, sex, race and ethnicity were comparable to those of participants in the Big C groups. In addition to Bilder and Anderson, authors include Kevin Japardi, a data intelligence analyst at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Kendra Knudsen, a researcher in psychology at UCLA; Susan Bookheimer, a researcher in psychiatry, behavioral sciences and psychology at UCLA; and Dara Ghahremani, a researcher in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UCLA. The research was funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (42052) awarded to Robert Bilder, and by the Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Center for the Biology of Creativity. The authors thank the Staglin IMHRO Center for Cognitive Neuroscience for their support and assistance. Ariana Anderson holds a Career Award at the Scientific Interface from Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The authors report no additional disclosures or potential conflicts of interest. RELATED TOPICS Mind & Brain Creativity Intelligence Brain-Computer Interfaces Psychology Science & Society STEM Education Privacy Issues Transportation Issues Urbanization. RELATED TERMS The arts Brain Synesthesia Genius Interpersonal relationship Collaboration Alzheimer's disease Animal cognition. advertisement. Story Source: Materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences . Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Ariana Anderson, Kevin Japardi, Kendra S. Knudsen, Susan Y. Bookheimer, Dara G. Ghahremani, Robert M. Bilder. Big-C creativity in artists and scientists is associated with more random global but less random local fMRI functional connectivity. . Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , 2022; DOI: 10.1037/aca0000463. Cite This Page : MLA. APA. Chicago. Print. Email. Share. 2. 3. 4. 5. Breaking. StowÂaways in the Genome. Male Yellow Crazy Ants Are Real-Life Chimeras. Einstein's Theory of Gravity: New Findings. Gusty Winds in a Far-Off Neutron Star System. Shutting Down Nuclear Power: Air Pollution. Elephant's Self-Taught Banana Peeling. Warmth-Trapping Secrets of Polar Bear Fur. Before Life: How Were Amino Acids Formed? High BP in Your 30s, Worse Brain Health Later. Brain Tumors Treatment and Diet. HEALTH & MEDICINE. Support from Others in Stressful Times Can Ease Impact of Genetic Depression Risk, Study Suggests. Study Reframes Understanding of Graft-Versus-Host Disease. Warmer Climate May Drive Fungi to Be More Dangerous to Our Health. MIND & BRAIN. Video Game Playing Causes No Harm to Young Children's Cognitive Abilities, Study Finds. HRT Could Ward Off Alzheimer's Among at-Risk Women. LIVING & WELL. Why Chocolate Feels So Good -- It Is All Down to Lubrication. Reducing Total Calories May Be More Effective for Weight Loss Than Intermittent Fasting. advertisement. HEALTH & MEDICINE. Researchers Create Embryo-Like Structures from Monkey Embryonic Stem Cells. Super-Sized Nanocage Could Deliver Bigger Drug Cargoes. A Miniature Heart in a Petri Dish: Organoid Emulates Development of the Human Heart. MIND & BRAIN. Table Tennis Brain Teaser: Playing Against Robots Makes Our Brains Work Harder. Sleight-of-Hand Magic Trick Only Fools Monkeys With Opposable Thumbs. English Language Pushes Everyone -- Even AI Chatbots -- To Improve by Adding. LIVING & WELL. Vocal Tract Size, Shape Dictate Speech Sounds. Virtual Reality Games Can Be Used as a Tool in Personnel Assessment. Edible Electronics: How a Seaweed Second Skin Could Transform Health and Fitness Sensor Tech. One-Hit Wonder: How Awards, Recognition Decrease Inventors' Creativity. July 14, 2022 — How You Speak Up at Work Can Affect Whether You’re Picked for a Team. Dec. 4, 2021 — Astrocytes Eat Connections to Maintain Plasticity in Adult Brains. Dec. 24, 2020 — As an Act of Self-Disclosure, Workplace Creativity Can Be Risky Business. Sep. 4, 2019 — advertisement. Toggle navigation. Menu. S D. S D Home Page Top Science News Latest News. Home Home Page Top Science News Latest News. Health View all the latest top news in the health sciences, or browse the topics below: Health & Medicine Allergy Alternative Medicine Cancer Cold and Flu Diabetes Diseases Heart Disease Infectious Diseases Obesity Stem Cells ... more topics Mind & Brain ADD and ADHD Addiction Alzheimer's Autism Depression Headaches Intelligence Psychology Relationships Schizophrenia ... more topics Living Well Parenting Child Development Stress Skin Care Men's Health Women's Health Nutrition Diet and Weight Loss Fitness Healthy Aging ... more topics. Tech View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology, or browse the topics below: Matter & Energy Aviation Chemistry Electronics Fossil Fuels Nanotechnology Physics Quantum Physics Solar Energy Technology Wind Energy ... more topics Space & Time Astronomy Black Holes Dark Matter Extrasolar Planets Mars Moon Solar System Space Telescopes Stars Sun ... more topics Computers & Math Artificial Intelligence Communications Computer Science Hacking Mathematics Quantum Computers Robotics Software Video Games Virtual Reality ... more topics. Enviro View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences, or browse the topics below: Plants & Animals Agriculture and Food Animals Biology Biotechnology Endangered Animals Extinction Genetically Modified Microbes and More New Species Zoology ... more topics Earth & Climate Climate Earthquakes Environment Geography Geology Global Warming Hurricanes Ozone Holes Pollution Weather ... more topics Fossils & Ruins Ancient Civilizations Anthropology Archaeology Dinosaurs Early Humans Early Mammals Evolution Lost Treasures Origin of Life Paleontology ... more topics. Society View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education, or browse the topics below: Science & Society Arts & Culture Consumerism Economics Political Science Privacy Issues Public Health Racial Disparity Religion Sports World Development ... more topics Business & Industry Biotechnology & Bioengineering Computers & Internet Energy & Resources Engineering Medical Technology Pharmaceuticals Transportation ... more topics Education & Learning Animal Learning & Intelligence Creativity Educational Psychology Educational Technology Infant & Preschool Learning Learning Disorders STEM Education ... more topics. Quirky Top News Human Quirks Odd Creatures Bizarre Things Weird World. Search. Get the latest science news in your RSS reader with ScienceDaily's hourly updated newsfeeds, covering hundreds of topics: List of All RSS Feeds. Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. 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