CREATIVITY AND THE PLAYFUL BRAIN – PART 1
Hello again! I’m glad you’ve stopped by to begin digging into the topic of the brain and creativity with me. This information is my takeaway from time spent going through Optimizing Brain Fitness by The Great Courses. If you want to start at the beginning of this series, jump back to the initial post.
Creativity seems like such a mysterious concept, allusive in nature, but it is marked by sudden insights associated with sudden bursts of activity in the right anterior temporal area which proves that creativity is brain related.
Different brain areas are specialized for different functions. The difference between right and left hemisphere styles has been exaggerated. You’ve heard people say “I’m a right-brain (or left-brain) person.” Each of us has a unique cognitive style that blends the functions of both hemispheres.
Let’s summarize the function of each hemisphere.
Left Hemisphere:
- verbal and symbolic processing
- main language center for reading, writing, speaking and calculating
- controls right hand
- analyzes the right visual field
Right Hemisphere:
- emotional responses to what we hear
- process visual and spatial information (reading a map or driving in unfamiliar surroundings)
- emotional perception and expression
- gives the emotional coloring of language (sarcasm, etc…)
- analyzes left visual field
- controls left hand
Why don’t we cap today’s “nugget” right here since nugget implies “a piece.” This section of the course on creativity will have multiple “pieces,” and today’s introduced some of the necessary groundwork by familiarizing ourselves with the specific functions of the left and right hemispheres in the brain. We will get to day dreaming, creative thinking patterns, originality, and enhancing brain function through creative play.
See you then!