Neurochemical correlates of creativity

“Creative thinking and empathy are crucial for everyday interactions and subjective well-being. this is emphasized by studies showing a reduction in these skills in populations where social interaction and subjective well-being are significantly compromised (e.g., depression). anecdotal reports and recent studies suggest that a single administration of psilocybin can enhance such processes and could therefore be a potential treatment. however, it has yet to be assessed whether effects outlast acute intoxication. the present study aimed to assess the sub-acute effects of psilocybin on creative thinking, empathy, and well-being. participants attending a psilocybin retreat completed tests of creative (convergent and divergent) thinking and empathy, and the satisfaction with life scale on three occasions: before ingesting psilocybin (n = 55), the morning after (n = 50), and seven days after (n = 22). results indicated that psilocybin enhanced divergent thinking and emotional empathy the morning after use. enhancements in convergent thinking, valence-specific emotional empathy, and well-being persisted seven days after use. sub-acute changes in empathy correlated with changes in well-being. the study demonstrates that a single administration of psilocybin in a social setting may be associated with sub-acute enhancement of creative thinking, empathy, and subjective well-being. future research should test whether these effects contribute to the therapeutic effects in clinical populations. article history”

“Artistic creativity forms the basis of music culture and music industry. composing, improvising and arranging music are complex creative functions of the human brain, which biological value remains unknown. we hypothesized that practicing music is social communication that needs musical aptitude and even creativity in music. in order to understand the neurobiological basis of music in human evolution and communication we analyzed polymorphisms of the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (avpr1a), serotonin transporter (slc6a4), catecol-o-methyltranferase (comt), dopamin receptor d2 (drd2) and tyrosine hydroxylase 1 (tph1), genes associated with social bonding and cognitive functions in 19 finnish families (n = 343 members) with professional musicians and/or active amateurs. all family members were tested for musical aptitude using the auditory structuring ability test (karma music test; kmt) and carl seashores tests for pitch (sp) and for time (st). data on creativity in music (composing, improvising and/or arranging music) was surveyed using a web-based questionnaire. here we show for the first time that creative functions in music have a strong genetic component (h2 = .84; composing h2 = .40; arranging h2 = .46; improvising h2 = .62) in finnish multigenerational families. we also show that high music test scores are significantly associated with creative functions in music (p<.0001). we discovered an overall haplotype association with avpr1a gene (markers rs1 and rs3) and kmt (p = 0.0008; corrected p = 0.00002), sp (p = 0.0261; corrected p = 0.0072) and combined music test scores (comb) (p = 0.0056; corrected p = 0.0006). avpr1a haplotype avr+rs1 further suggested a positive association with st (p = 0.0038; corrected p = 0.00184) and comb (p = 0.0083; corrected p = 0.0040) using haplotype-based association test hbat. the results suggest that the neurobiology of music perception and production is likely to be related to the pathways affecting intrinsic attachment behavior.”

“Brain diseases and their treatment may help or hurt creativity in ways that shape quality of life. increased creative drive is associated with bipolar disorder, depression, psychosis, temporal lobe epilepsy, frontotemporal dementia, parkinson disease treatments, and autism. creativity depends on goal-driven approach motivation from midbrain dopaminergic systems. fear-driven avoidance motivation is of less aid to creativity. when serotonin and norepinephrine lower motivation and flexible behaviour, they can inhibit creativity. hemispheric lateralization and frontotemporal connections must interact to create new ideas and conceptual schemes. the right brain and temporal lobe contribute skill in novelty detection, while the left brain and frontal lobe foster approach motivation and more easily generate new patterns of action from the novel perceptions. genes and phenotypes that increase plasticity and creativity in tolerant environments with relaxed selection pressure may confer risk in rigorous environments. few papers substantively address this important but fraught topic. antidepressants (ads) that inhibit fear-driven motivation, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, sometimes inhibit goal-oriented motivation as well. ads that boost goal-directed motivation, such as bupropion, may remediate this effect. benzodiazepines and alcohol may be counterproductive. although dopaminergic agonists sometimes stimulate creativity, their doing so may inappropriately disinhibit behaviour. dopamine antagonists may suppress creative motivation; lithium and anticonvulsant mood stabilizers may do so less. physical exercise and rem sleep may help creativity. art therapy and psychotherapy are not well studied. preserving creative motivation can help creativity and other aspects of well-being in all patients, not just artists or researchers.”

“Anecdotal and published case reports suggest that some patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssri) experience diminution in emotional responsiveness. this study aims to define the individual components of emotion disturbed in these patients. fifteen patients reporting ssri-induced sexual dysfunction completed the laukes emotional intensity scale (leis), a questionnaire about various emotions. compared to controls, patients reported significantly (p<0.05) less ability to cry, irritation, care about others’ feelings, sadness, erotic dreaming, creativity, surprise, anger, expression of their feelings, worry over things or situations, sexual pleasure, and interest in sex. total score on the leis did not correlate with total score on the hamilton depression rating scale. in our sample, 80% of patients with ssri-induced sexual dysfunction also describe clinically significant blunting of several emotions. emotional blunting may be an under-appreciated side-effect of ssris that may contribute to treatment non-compliance and/or reduced quality of life.”

“Abstract flow has been investigated with many different performing arts groups, and the results demonstrate that heightened flow, also known as optimal performance, is embraced and endorsed by performers. studies suggest that some individuals are genetically predisposed to experience frequent and elevated flow states. the genetic flow predispositions are strongly associated with a more robust dopaminergic system, one that increases both reward experiences and flow activities. accumulation of research findings indicates that flow, despite its exhilarating and pleasurable sensation, is actually physiologically stressful. flow experiences are enhanced by cognitive, motivational, and emotional regions in the brain via the release of neurochemicals such as serotonin. current protocols to enhance performance flow are underway such as neurofeedback therapy and instituting supportive training environments. ”

“Creativity depends on high, but not too high, motivation. the optimally creative level of goal-oriented drive-the peak of its inverted-u relation-is higher than that of fear-driven drive. because creative drive is a biological function of the human brain, the physical forces that affect motivation powerfully shape creativity. most people doing creative work assume that more creative drive is always better. the first part of this three-part review describes some of the reasons for the brain’s tight homeostatic control of drives, in which negative feedback loops produce inverted-u relations between motivation and other variables ranging from mood to dopaminergic tone to blood sugar. high motivation can be risky in some contexts. plasticity genes can make creative people benefit more from resource-rich environments, but perform worse in harsh environments. although overly negative feedback control restricts creative motivation unnecessarily, underactive control can deplete creative energy and paradoxically worsen performance. feedback problems can make creative drive oscillate wildly, as can be seen in bipolar disorder. nonetheless, because all negative feedback loops must oscillate, trying to flatten creative oscillations into a uniform constant output can be counterproductive. the review’s second part describes the brain’s two major motivational systems, for approach and avoidance, and their effects on creativity. dopamine stimulates goal-driven approach motivation and vivid mental imagery. serotonin decreases fear-driven avoidance motivation. norepinephrine boosts general arousal. the dominant left hemisphere aids approach motivation, and detection of familiar patterns. the right hemisphere fosters avoidance motivation. but also novelty detection. in creativity, these opposing systems coordinate to fit novel perceptions into new patterns. the review’s last two sections examine perturbations of motivation by disease and medical treatment. the link between specific brain disorders and creativity extends beyond ‘mental’ and ‘neurological’ illness, and provides more broadly applicable information about the risks that all people face when doing creative work. interventions ranging from migraine medicines to treadmill desks have mixed effects on creative motivation of which their users are largely unaware. creativity research should focus on real-world feedback signals that can help creators assess and correct their motivational levels. (psycinfo database rec…”

“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.”

“Stress is a word that is used very commonly. it is generally employed to design unpleasant phenomena, although it is related to a function necessary to our life. stress in itself is not a disease. stress is not an aggression. it is an adaptative response of our body to any demand. nothing can be done without stress. stress gives rise to a mobilization of our body to succeed in a group of activities necessary to individual and social life. it favors our dynamism and creativity. but this aptitude can attain its limits, when the solicitations we receive are above what we are able to perform, both in relation to our mental and physical capabilities. the brain controls the systems involved in stress. the main areas are the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system (which comprises the hippocampus and the amygdala) and the hypothalamus. relations between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system are important for the planification of action. the main systems of regulation are the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, the neuro-endocrine system and last but not least the immune system. there is a relation between all our organs and the brain. the genetic aspects and the influences of our past experiences, both during childhood and in adult life, are envisaged.”

“And keywords humans have been aware for thousands of years that sleep comes in many forms, accompanied by different kinds of mental content. this chapter reviews the first-person report literature on the frequency and type of content experienced in various stages of sleep, showing that different sleep stages are dissociable at the subjective level. it then relates these subjective differences to the growing literature differentiating the various sleep stages at the neurophysiological level, including evidence from electrophysiology, neurochemistry, and functional neuroimaging. the authors suggest that there is emerging evidence for relationships between sleep stage, neurophysiological activity, and subjective experiences. specifically, they emphasize that functional neuroimaging work suggests a parallel between activation and deactivation of default network and visual network brain areas and the varying frequency and intensity of imagery and dream mentation across sleep stages; additionally, frontoparietal control network activity across sleep stages may parallel levels of cognitive control and meta-awareness.”