People With Brain Damage Are More Creative Than the Rest of Us

You’ve likely heard the notion that creativity occurs in the right sides of our brain and that intuitives and artists tend to be “right-brained” while more logical, analytical individuals are “left-brained.” However, according to research, this isn’t necessarily the case.

“We wanted to answer the questions, ‘What brain regions are key for human creativity and how does this relate to the effects of brain injuries?’” said co-senior author Isaiah Kletenik, MD, a neurologist in the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

The research actually indicated that the whole brain is involved in creative thinking.

Brain Damage Can Make You More Creative, Research Finds

“We found that many complex human behaviors such as creativity don’t map to a specific brain region but do map to specific brain circuits,” explained co-senior author Michael D. Fox, MD, PhD, who founded and leads the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics.

What’s more? According to the study, “Some people with neurologic diseases experience a new onset of creative behavior and show specific patterns of damage that align with our creativity circuit,” said lead study author Julian Kutsche, MA, who completed a research fellowship at the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics.

“These findings could help explain how some neurodegenerative diseases might lead to decreases in creativity while others may show a paradoxical increase in creativity,” Kletenik added. “It could also potentially add a pathway for brain stimulation to increase human creativity.”

While some people might feel more naturally artistic than others, we all have the potential to be creative—and there are many ways to get in touch with that side of yourself. One specific way, according to Kletenik, is by limiting your self-censorship. In the study, the researchers found that damage to the right frontal pole, which is in charge of self-monitoring, was actually associated with higher creativity.

“To be creative, you may have to turn off your inner critic to allow yourself to find new directions and even make mistakes,” Kletenik said.