Creativity & Brain Network Theory

This installment is meant to ground the seeming magic of creativity with some scientific theory. In doing so, perhaps your creative mind may feel more tangible and achievable.

Modern science notes that there are numerous brain networks that enable our sentience and function as humans. Brain network theory categorizes networks of nodes within your brain in an attempt to make sense of how your mind works.

It’s been discovered that as you go about your day different areas of your brain “light up” to fit the situation. There are parts for solving problems, reflection, and abstract thinking. Figuring out ways to harness the power of your unfocused mind for use in activating novel thoughts and solving problems.

Among these networks, many point to the “big three” as critical for creativity. I think of these modes as dreamy thinking, sharp thinking, and important thinking.

Dreamy thinking

The mostly-idle default network was coined in 2001 to describe resting-state brain function. This is also commonly called your, “imagination network.” The default network is activated when you’re not busy on a specific task — when your mind is wandering or you’re daydreaming. You might be thinking about yourself or other people, or pondering the past or the future.

It may not come as a surprise that the default network is critical to childhood brain development. It controls your inner speech, your capacity for creative problem solving, and your ability to both imagine and move past negative thoughts and fears. If you want to activate this dreamy part of your brain, take a break. You may find that some of your best ah-ha moments happen in the shower, on a walk, or even, in your dreams!

Sharp thinking

The center for decisions and emotions is commonly called the executive network. Executive attention refers to our ability to create a response. Think of it in terms of our ability to regulate decisions, particularly in conflict situations where several responses are possible.

Executive functions such as planning, the application of specific attention, and feats of mental organization. What I find funny is that if we don’t have a task at hand, this network simply turns off. This might be a good insight for those of us that can easily get caught up in the endless cycle of messaging and information feeds.

Important thinking

The salience network controls attention — things you either take notice of or don’t. In addition to detecting and filtering stimuli, the salience network functions to “recruit” the other networks. It helps to coordinate your default and executive functions through sensory, emotional, and cognitive information for things like self-awareness, communication, and social behavior.

Simply, the Salience network helps to balance the activity within your mind. It helps keep you aware, put you in touch with your intuition, and activates compassion and empathy.

Thinking symphonically

It’s believed that when operating at peak creative performance, these three networks work in a synergy of feedback loops:

• The dreamy nature of your default network generates, explores, and connects ideas
• The sharpness of the executive network helps you to focus, evaluate, and decide
• The ability to gauge the importance of thoughts via the salience network helps you to monitor, sort, and prioritize them

The authors of Wired to Create state,

“Creative people are especially good at exercising flexibility in activating or deactivating these brain networks. In doing so, they’re able to juggle seemingly contradictory modes of thought — cognitive and emotional, deliberate and spontaneous.”

It might help to picture your brain networks functioning through a kind of switchboard that chooses the best pathways for creative thinking.

The concept of flexing and relaxing certain parts of your mind can be difficult to, well, wrap your head around! After all, we are habitual animals, and learning a different way can feel confronting and very challenging.

It’s absolutely possible to train yourself to ease in and out of these mental modalities. Learning to do so can help you feel more creative in everything you do.

Continue to, Mantras for Creativity.