Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
You’ve probably heard how certain activities can improve the functionality of the brain. Instead of the idea that creativity only happens in one part of the right hemisphere, it may be more beneficial for the brain as a whole. Studies have demonstrated how the creative process actually incorporates a variety of components and is not centered around a single area. In essence, being creative can help the development of several key areas of the brain.
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Areas of the Brain Affected By Creativity
According to an article I stumbled across from thee years ago from Scientific American, there are several key elements that are used when being creative. It’s more than just the idea that comes into mind as a large portion of your head goes into any given project.
Memory
The memory centers of the mind play a big role in influencing creativity. This pulls information from your past to put into the current project. After all, most of us are inspired by what we see or hear when it comes to crafting. Paintings, songs, novels and more are all impacted by our past. Even our skills of expression can be influenced by others, such as an author you love or the stroke style of a Monet. It’s all relevant to how we put things together in order to be creative.
Information Processing
Creativity uses the various areas in the brain that process information. For example, it would be hard to achieve a certain taste in a new recipe if you don’t understand what it is you’re trying to create. Musicians will utilize audibility in order to gauge whether the music is just right or not. Even Mozart had to understand physical vibrations in order to compose some of the most historical pieces. These areas of the mind are in different locations as opposed to what scientists first thought as the “creative center.”
Communication Development
When creating new pieces, the areas responsible for communication are utilized. Visual, auditory and speech is put to work in some degree as you try to sense how others will be impacted by your project. For a writer, you’ll most likely try to gauge how others will visualize the text in their own minds. Singers will want to hit the notes right in order to engage the audience. Regardless of what you’re trying to accomplish, communication is greatly involved.
Social Cognition
Being creative will also stimulate social cognition within the brain. When you imagine how people will react to your work or how it will impact your social interaction in the present, certain aspects of the mind fire up. There is a growing field of research that analyzes this aspect and how the mind interprets information on a social level. It, too, will pull information from a wide range of areas within the mind.
Whether you’re writing a novel or coming up with proper rhymes to sing, more of the brain is being flexed than just the one, right-sided half. Putting pencil to paper, paint to canvas or even blade to clay, the mind benefits as neurons are connected and firing in tandem. Express yourself, it could be monumental in the development of your thought processes.
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