Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and the Neural Correlates of Artistic Creative Production

TitleFunctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and the Neural Correlates of Artistic Creative Production
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsBarrett KChan, Limb C
Book TitleEncyclopedia of Creativity 3rd Edition
Pagination526 - 533
ISBN Number9780128093245
Abstract

Research investigating the neuroscience of creativity has taken off in the last decade. Using neural techniques as a tool, scientistshave investigated brain correlates of artistic planning and creative thought, traits of highly creative people, and reactions to artistic works. Using techniques like electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET), diffusor tension imaging (DTI), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), scientists have steadily began to understand the neural activity supporting the creative process. The majority of research, however, has relied on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI utilizes blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) imaging because local consumption of oxyhemoglobin and conversion into deoxyhemoglobin represents a reliable, ferromagnetic marker for changes in neural activity. Measuring regional variations in BOLD signals thereby serves as a corollary of neural activity that allows researchers to map changes in brain activity associated with a wide range of cognitive, motor, or sensory tasks germane to creative processing in the brain. The strength of fMRI as a technique lies in the fact that it is non-ionizing and non-invasive, yet provides high spatial resolution. Neuroscientists have largely taken two approaches to studying artistic creativity. One burgeoning approach studies the neural responses to works of art, sometimes referred to as the study of neuroaesthetics. The other approach examines neural responses involved in actively planning or creating art. This chapter focuses on the latter approach, surveying fMRI experiments that investigate the neural correlates of musical, visual, and verbal creativity, as well as nascent knowledge regarding kinesthetic creativity and the creativity of design and invention. While many expressive art forms exist, these fields discussed here represent performing art forms that have been the most widely investigated, to date, using neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI.