On Recognizing Neural Systems At Work In Creative Thinking
Pacific Standard
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1/15/18
"Three specific neural systems: the executive network, which is engaged in complex mental tasks such as problem solving; the default mode, which is activated when we're in a resting or ruminative state; and the salience network, which monitors incoming input, prioritizes it, and allows us to efficiently process it. Normally, it does so by suppressing either the executive or default mode, allowing the network that is best-equipped to deal with the information at hand to do so unimpeded. But this research finds that, in highly creative people… key parts of the problem-solving and internal rumination systems are simultaneously engaged, allowing the formation of creative connections.”