Creative minds

NY Times article on creativity mentions the work of Rex Jung (research scientist at the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque and assistant research professor in the department of neurosurgery at the University of New Mexico):

“The brain appears to be an efficient superhighway that gets you from Point A to Point B” when it comes to intelligence, Dr Jung explained. “But in the regions of the brain related to creativity, there appears to be lots of little side roads with interesting detours, and meandering little byways.”

Although intelligence and skill are generally associated with the fast and efficient firing of neurons, subjects who tested high in creativity had thinner white matter and connecting axons that have the effect of slowing nerve traffic in the brain. This slowdown in the left frontal cortex, a region where emotional and cognitive abilities are integrated, Dr Jung suggested, “might allow for the linkage of more disparate ideas, more novelty and more creativity.” ~ link

Maybe there are advantages to slow and meandering. :-)