Where do bright ideas occur in our brain? Meta-analytic evidence from neuroimaging studies of domain-specific creativity

Many studies have assessed the neural underpinnings of creativity, failing to find a clear anatomical localization. We aimed to provide evidence for a multi-componential neural system for creativity. We applied a general activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis to 45 fMRI studies. Three individual ALE analyses were performed to assess creativity in different cognitive domains (Musical, Verbal, and Visuo-spatial). The general ALE revealed that creativity relies on clusters of activations in the bilateral occipital, parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes. The individual ALE revealed different maximal activation in different domains. Musical creativity yields activations in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, in the left cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule and in the right postcentral and fusiform gyri. Verbal creativity yields activations mainly located in the left hemisphere, in the prefrontal cortex, middle and superior temporal gyri, inferior parietal lobule, postcentral and supramarginal gyri, middle occipital gyrus, and insula. The right inferior frontal gyrus and the lingual gyrus were also activated. Visuo-spatial creativity activates the right middle and inferior frontal gyri, the bilateral thalamus and the left precentral gyrus. This evidence suggests that creativity relies on multi-componential neural networks and that different creativity domains depend on different brain regions

Creativity, art and laterality as tools for learning the language in children

The first years of life are fundamental because is the time where the bases are laid for the acquisition of cognitive skills, such as psychomotor, emotional and social abilities necessary for the proper learning. However, each day it is more common to find children in primary schools who suffer school failure. Behind this fact we find difficulties that have not been perceived in the first years of schooling, such as a poor integration of the body scheme and spatio-temporal orientation and a lack of definition in laterality. Different studies have shown that good laterality settlement can improve the literacy learning. Creativity, helps learning to be attached by a sense of pleasure which allows the development of cognitive, psychomotor, affective and social abilities in students. This study tests the influence of creativity, art and laterality in the learning of the language subject of 2nd grade children. 60 children have been gathered between the ages of 7 and 8 years old from Barcelona. The results of the investigation have shown that the defined laterality (right and left handed) favors the learning of the language subject to a greater extent than when it is crossed; meaning that academic performance is significantly higher when we have a defined laterality. In order to improve learning, an intervention is proposed to develop creativity and laterality, which is why this research has a preventive function of school failure

Whole-Brained Engineering Education in Undergraduate Studies at the University of Dayton

This inquiry is a case study which explores, explicates, and summarizes the recent shift to “whole-brained” engineering education for undergraduate-level students at the University of Dayton. This case study is primarily structured around the experiences and insights of an interviewee, Dr. Ken Bloemer, who is the Director of the Visioneering Center at the University of Dayton. The Visioneering Center is principally focused on promoting the progress of engineering education at the university. Voices from scholarly literature pertaining to this vision and other undergraduate engineering curricula are then used to reinforce the interviewee’s views and give deeper insight into the various aspects of the changing engineering education format. This article is constructed around an interview with Dr. Ken Bloemer, who is the Director of the Innovation Center at the University of Dayton. The main concept of “whole-brained” engineering and the following subtopics, Cultivating Creativity in the Classroom, Fostering Innovation Ideals in the Engineering Design Process, and Implementing Diversity of Thought into Engineering Team Dynamics stem from this interview. The main and subtopics and supported with information from academic literature reviews, academic journals, research regarding the topic, and curricula from other schools with undergraduate-level engineering programs

Neuropsychiatry of creativity.

In this paper, we review in brief the development of ideas that over time have tried to explain why some individuals are more creative than others and what may be the neurobiological links underlying artistic creativity. We note associations with another unique human idea, that of genius. In particular, we discuss frontotemporal dementia and bipolar, cyclothymic mood disorder as clinical conditions that are helping to unravel the underlying neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of human creativity. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Epilepsy, Art, and Creativity"

Creativity as a Mental State: An EEG Study of Musical Improvisation

Researchers in cognitive neuroscience have used brain-imaging methods (e.g., EEG, fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of creative cognition and have found increased activity in the alpha frequency band (Fink et al., 2009a, 2009b; Martindale, 1975), however few studies have used neuroscientific measures to investigate artistic creativity. Such studies are valuable because they share a characteristic of ecological validity. In this study I used EEG, the Alternate Uses Test (Guilford, 1967), and the Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1982) to substantiate a conceptualization of creativity as a mental state characterized by a distinct pattern of neural activity. The participants were musicians with and without previous formal institutional training in improvisation. Amongst those with previous training, frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere was greater when musicians improvised than when they played back and listened to melodies. Originality scores correlated with frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere during improvisation, and frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere correlated with expert ratings of created products. The relationship of frontal upper alpha synchronization in the right hemisphere during improvisation and the quality of created products was mediated by aptitude for originality. This suggests that training acts as a pathway for the development of creative gifts into creative talents observable in the quality of created products

The psychological aspects of left-handedness and sinistrality among schoolchildren

Nowadays, there are many schoolchildren who demonstrate a large number of left-sided motor and sensory preferences. It can be considered as external markers of functional hemispheric asymmetry of the brain. The main purpose of the study is to investigate psychological peculiarities and specificity of age-related dynamics of laterality pattern’s formation in junior schoolchildrenyesBelgorod State Universit

Undergraduate Voices, Volume 1 (2018): Addendum

Additional articles approved for publication in December 2018 in Volume 1