Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Mar;30(3):e14266.
doi: 10.1111/cns.14266. Epub 2023 Jun 12.

Creative therapy in health and disease: Inner vision

Radwa Khalil  1 , Vida Demarin  2
Affiliations
Review

Creative therapy in health and disease: Inner vision

Radwa Khalil et al. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Can we better understand the unique mechanisms of de novo abilities in light of our current knowledge of the psychological and neuroscientific literature on creativity? This review outlines the state-of-the-art in the neuroscience of creativity and points out crucial aspects that still demand further exploration, such as brain plasticity. The progressive development of current neuroscience research on creativity presents a multitude of prospects and potentials for furnishing efficacious therapy in the context of health and illness. Therefore, we discuss directions for future studies, identifying a focus on pinpointing the neglected beneficial practices for creative therapy. We emphasize the neglected neuroscience perspective of creativity on health and disease and how creative therapy could offer limitless possibilities to improve our well-being and give hope to patients with neurodegenerative diseases to compensate for their brain injuries and cognitive impairments by expressing their hidden creativity.

Keywords: brain plasticity; creative therapy; de novo abilities; dementia; experience flow; kinesthetic creativity; musical creativity; visuospatial creativity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that this work has no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Herrmann brain dominance instrument. This graph illustrates four specialized clusters of mental activity. The four quadrants are divided based on conceptual, instinctive, initiative, and relational axes. A/Facts, Analytical: logical, technical, financial, fact‐based, etc.; B/Form, Practical: organized, detailed, structured, etc.; C/Feelings, Relational: emotional, sensory, etc.; and D/Future, Experimental: risk taker, intuitive, etc.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Dual and multiple factor models. The dual models of creativity consider hemispheric lateralization (right vs. left brain), information processing streams (bottom‐up vs. top‐down approaches), and brain network dynamics (default vs. central executive modes). Multiple‐factor models reflect the parallel machinery of three (or more) systems that operate in a union. The two multiple‐factor models that have been proposed hypothesize the information processing mechanisms underlying (A) the many operations underlying various types of creative insight (Dietrich's evolutionary predictive perspective) or (B) different aspects of the creative‐thinking process in general (Jung's evolutionary brain networks perspective).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Schematic overview of the three creative network models. (A) Localization of the default mode network (DMN, purple), the salience mode network (SMN, brown), and the central executive network (CEN, green); and (B) The fundamental functions of each network model, which are described in the boxes below each model. The arrows refer to the interactions between these models based on their functions.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Four types of creativity with corresponding brain activities, according to Dietrich. We hypothesized a switch between two modalities (blue arrows) and within one modality (black arrows). Dietrich identified four types of creativity, either emotionally or cognitively based and also spontaneous (i.e., unexpected) or deliberate (i.e., a conscious effort to sustain), which results in four quadrants, each with different and unique aspects. We suggest different kinds of creativity for each quadrant: either cognitive (scientific creativity) or emotional (musical, literary, visual artistic, and kinesthetic creativity); however, there is a degree to which these types of creativity could change based on the switch between two modalities (blue arrows) and within one modality (black arrows).
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Diagram of the components and processes that induce brain plasticity through physical activity. HPA and ANS refer to the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system, respectively. HPA and ANS represent the machinery for converting the energy from visceral organs to the brain regarding catecholamines (i.e., dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine), GF (growth factors), and neurotransmitters (i.e., histamine and serotonin). Brain illustrations depict the distribution of neurotransmitters and catecholamines.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Graphic illustration depicting how physical activity affects the brain, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA), and the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (SNS and PNS). The brain and visceral organs, such as the liver, heart, and lung, convert energy into neurotransmitters, which the blood–brain barrier uptakes. HPA reduces stress. SNA and PNS have different organizational machinery for signal transduction. The Cori cycle (interaction between the liver and muscle for cycling glucose and lactate) is shown in the lower graph (metabolic activities in the mitochondria during rest (blue) and exercise (i.e., active, which involve the release of ATP, red)).
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Graphic depiction showing how three creative domains—musical, visuospatial, and kinesthetic—affect brain plasticity in individuals who have suffered brain injuries. The distinct plasticity effect appears in the three creativity domains through enhancing executive functions (EFs), each indicated by arrows.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Illustration of neuroscientists' and clinicians' perspectives on creativity. Neuroscientists attempt to explain neuroplasticity using brain imaging techniques and brain‐process and process‐brain approaches. In contrast, clinicians (neurologists and psychiatrists) aim to find ways to promote the “brain potential” in recovering from or slowing the progression of diseases. Uniting the two communities will deliver more promising benefits from using creativity as an effective therapy for health and disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Herrmann N. The creative brain. J Creat Behav. 1991;25(4):275‐295. doi:10.1002/j.2162-6057.1991.tb01140.x - DOI
    1. Abraham A. The Neuroscience of Creativity. Cambridge University Press; 2018.
    1. Demarin V. In: Demarin V. (ed.) Mind and Brain: Bridging Neurology and Psychiatry. Springer International Publishing; 2020. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38606-1 - DOI
    1. Demarin V, Bedeković M, Puretić M, Pašić M. Arts, brain and cognition. Psychiatr Danub. 2016;28:343‐348. - PubMed
    1. May R. The courage to create. Norton; 1975.