Neuroscientists Have Pinpointed the Origins of Creativity in the Brain

A collaborative study by researchers from the University of Utah Health and Baylor College of Medicine has uncovered the crucial function of the default mode network in creativity using sophisticated brain imaging, highlighting possibilities for future therapeutic interventions.

Have you ever had the solution for a tough problem suddenly hit you when you’re thinking about something entirely different? Creative thought is a hallmark of humanity, but it’s an ephemeral, almost paradoxical ability, striking unexpectedly when it’s not sought out.

And the neurological source of creativity—what’s going on in our brains when we think outside the box—is similarly elusive.