many different regions of the brain because in reality creativity comes from a dispersed network of many different regions of the brain.
There have been several studies that correlate creative thinking with the alpha brainwave frequency with participants displaying higher alpha brainwaves in the frontal area of the brain, so this may be of interest to those who study the brain. Some studies have even found that there are different types of creativity, some that depend on prefrontal brain engagement with others dependent on prefrontal disengagement.
The conclusion of this work tells us that there may not be just one area of the brain in which creativity comes from and many studies have shown that there are actually a multitude of processes and different levels of the brain that are involved when it comes to something like the process of creativity. Other studies have shown that creativity may even be related to unconscious processes and there are even some schools of thought that relate creativity to mental illness.
Understanding how creativity arises from the brain is a fascinating field of study when it really comes down to it. Many times one hears the word creativity right alongside the word "genius" and even though it may be highly desirable to be a creative genius, the two don't necessarily go together and as a matter of fact they are two very different things.
Creativity has been equated with high levels of divergent thinking. Divergent thinking can be defined as one who has the ability to come up with a large number of responses to open ended questions or probes. Many times you will hear the idea of people getting flashes of insight or creativity when they least expect it. The most famous example being that of Archimedes, who came up with a flash of insight while in the tub bathing.
The story is that Archimedes when faced with the dilemma of whether an irregularly shaped crown of gold was made of an alloy or pure gold, received a flash of insight the moment he immersed himself in the tub, suddenly realizing that he could measure its density by measuring the amount of water it displaced divided by its weight, just as water was displaced by his body in the tub.
This is a charming and beautiful example of how the process of creativity works.
Laughter enables us to take our eye off the ball so that our creative juices can start to flow. There seems to be somewhat of a pattern when it comes to the idea of creative thought. The creative process seems to flow through certain stages:
The Stages of the Creative Process
•The first stage, the stage of preparation, is essentially a time in which the skills or information is assembled.
•The second stage continues with a period of incubation, which is often equated with a time of relaxation in which someone is not consciously working to solve the problem. This period of incubation may in fact allow the unconscious mind to begin forming connections, in support of the creative process or solution.
•The third stage is the stage where one reaches the point of inspiration or the "eureka" moment in which the solution presents itself.
It seems that one simply can't force inspiration and trying to force it may in fact even stifle it! This concept of an incubation period is fascinating and it helps us understand the reason why something like laughter supports the creative process because laughter helps us take our mind off of our problems, and it is just this process itself that may be the key to supporting creative thought. Laughter can be equated in many ways to the idea of an incubation period because it allows our mind to form new connections and new sources of inspiration while we are busy laughing.
One can also look at something like the chaos theory or the complexity theory to understand creativity as well. The chaos theory is the study of dynamic and nonlinear processes and the study of self-organizing systems; self-organizing systems are seen in nature all the time every time a flock of birds or a school of fish comes together. All of these kinds of things demonstrate a kind of dispersed control, rather than a centralized control similar to the human brain because the human brain may actually be of the ultimate self-organizing system with creativity being one of its most integral and dynamic systems.
When experiencing something like laughter, the brain's frontal lobe becomes active. The limbic system, or network of structures located beneath the cerebral cortex, is also activated. The limbic system is important because it controls some behaviors that are essential to forming memory and experiencing pleasure.
The limbic system also controls friendship, laughter, affection and love! Laughter also helps your blood vessels function better acting on the inner lining of blood vessels causing them to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. In other words, laughter not only helps your brain, but it also helps your heart.
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