Aha! moments and neuroscience

There are many words to describe the emergence of sudden ideas - sparks, flashes, or light-bulb moments. But what makes these moments both fascinating and perplexing is that they usually happen abruptly, without warning and seemingly out of thin air. Studies of the phenomenon of sudden insights using behavioral methods have been ongoing for decades, resulting in speculations as to where these ideas come from and how they form. More recently, however, cognitive neuroscience has been able to explain the inner workings of the brain during aha! moments. Using brain-image technology and recording brainwaves of individuals in idea generating experiments, scientists in both the USA and the EU have found that these sudden sparks are the result of a complex series of brain states in which new neural network pathways give rise to new ideas. Findings also suggest that more neural processes are required in Aha! moments than when solving a problem analytically or methodically. However, the more activated the brain is, the more likely it is to be distracted, as too much attention can overload the brain's information-processing capabilities. Instead, we are most creative when we are in a positive mood experiencing lower levels of arousal in the cortical areas of the brain. It is in states of daydreaming, doodling and drifting when we are most receptive to new ideas. Now these findings may not come as a surprise to people with a creativity mindset; Albert Einstein, for example, attributed some of his greatest physics breakthroughs to his violin-playing, claiming it connected different parts of his brain in new ways. Main source: http://brainworldmagazine.com