Improvisation, Creativity, And Consciousness: J...

In summary, this study shows that the impulse to create emotionally expressive music may have a basic neural origin: emotion modulates the neural systems involved in creativity, allowing musicians to engage limbic centers of their brain and enter flow states. The human urge to express emotions through art may derive from these widespread changes in limbic, reward and prefrontal areas during emotional expression. Within jazz improvisation, certain emotional states may open musicians to deeper flow states or more robust stimulation of reward centers. The creative expression of emotion through music may involve more complex mechanisms by which the brain processes emotions, in comparison to perception of emotion alone. Additional studies of how emotional state modulates creativity in non-artistic domains such as decision-making and social interactions are needed. Future studies could also examine whether there is an effect of gender on emotional expression through music and whether the neural results are altered if subjects use both hands during improvisation. This study examines just one of many possible factors that could influence the neural underpinnings of human creativity and there is huge scope for investigation. Further understanding how emotion influences creativity in both artistic and non-artistic contexts will be crucial for the derivation of a more comprehensive and accurate neural model of human creativity.

Improvisation, Creativity, and Consciousness: J...

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