The Creative Brain

Myths and Truths

Anna Abraham

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English

MIT Press
04 June 2024

Psychology

A nuanced, science-based understanding of the creative mind that dispels the pervasive myths we hold about the human brain-but also uncovers the truth at their cores.

A nuanced, science-based understanding of the creative mind that dispels the pervasive myths we hold about the human brain-but also uncovers the truth at their cores.

What is the relationship between creativity and madness? Creativity and intelligence? Do psychedelics truly enhance creativity? How should we understand the left and right hemispheres of the brain? Is the left brain, in fact, the seat of reasoning and the right brain the seat of creativity? These are just some of the questions Anna Abraham, a renowned expert of human creativity and the imagination, explores in The Creative Brain, a fascinating deep dive into the origins of the seven most common beliefs about the human brain. Rather than endorse or debunk these myths, Abraham traces them back to their origins to explain just how they started and why they spread-and what at their core is the truth.

Drawing on theoretical and empirical work in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, Abraham offers an examination of human creativity that reveals the true complexity underlying our conventional beliefs about the brain. The chapters in the book explore the myth of the right brain as the hemisphere responsible for creativity; the relationship between madness and creativity, psychedelics and creativity, atypical brains and creativity, and intelligence and creativity; the various functions of dopamine; and lastly, the default mode revolution, which theorized that the brain regions most likely to be involved in the creative process are those areas of the brain that are most active during rest or mind-wandering.

An accessible and engaging read, The Creative Brain gets to the heart of how our creative minds work and why some people are more creative than others, offering illuminating insights into what on its surface seems to be an endlessly magical phenomenon.

By: Anna Abraham
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 133mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262548007
ISBN 10: 0262548003
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 04 June 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1 The Creative Right Brain 1 2 Madness and Creativity 23 3 Psychedelic Drugs and Creativity 43 4 Atypical Brains and Creativity 63 5 Intelligence and Creativity 83 6 Dopamine and Creativity 107 7 The Default Mode Network and Creativity (A Myth in the Making) 129 Afterword 151 Notes 157 Name Index 249 Subject Index 257

Anna Abraham is the E. Paul Torrance Professor and Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia. She is the author of The Neuroscience of Creativity and the editor of the multidisciplinary volume The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination.

Reviews for The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths

""A thought-provoking exploration into the complexities of human intelligence and creativity, making it a fascinating read. . . . The Creative Brain serves as both a guide and a reminder that knowledge about our own minds can lead to more effective and creative thinking in our everyday lives."" —Abakus