In this episode, I explain how the brain engages in creative thinking and, based on that mechanistic understanding, the tools to improve one’s ability to think creatively and innovate in any area. I discuss how convergent and divergent thinking are essential for generating creative ideas and provide three types of meditation tools (open monitoring meditation, focused attention meditation & non-sleep deep rest; NSDR), which improve our ability to engage in these creative thinking patterns in specific and powerful ways. I also discuss how dopamine and mood contribute to the creative process and describe behavioral, nutritional and supplementation-based approaches for increasing dopamine to engage in creative thought and implementation. I explain how movement and storytelling (narrative) approaches can generate novel creative ideas and how substances like alcohol, cannabis, and psilocybin impact our creative ability. Excitingly, creativity is a skill that can be cultivated and enhanced; this episode outlines many tools to help anyone access creativity and apply creative patterns of thought to different domains of life.
#HubermanLab #Creativity #Science
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Articles
Open monitoring meditation reduces the involvement of brain regions related to memory function: https://go.nature.com/3V6s6Jt
The (b)link between creativity and dopamine: Spontaneous eye blink rates predict and dissociate divergent and convergent thinking: https://bit.ly/3v3nlWG
Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness: https://bit.ly/3PJATjC
Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting: https://bit.ly/3FHf3Zv
A new method for training creativity: narrative as an alternative to divergent thinking: https://bit.ly/3FH0chB
More creative through positive mood? Not everyone!: https://bit.ly/3v1tYss
Dopaminergic control of cognitive flexibility in humans and animals: https://bit.ly/3j8vyGd
Other Resources:
10-minute NSDR: https://youtu.be/AKGrmY8OSHM
Timestamps
00:00:00 Creativity
00:04:30 ROKA, Thesis, LMNT, Momentous
00:08:51 What is Creativity?
00:11:16 Creativity in Visual Arts, Escher & Banksy
00:23:37 Neural Circuits of Creativity
00:31:58 AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:33:13 Creative Ideas & Divergent Thinking
00:42:09 Testing Creative Ideas & Convergent Thinking
00:46:41 Dopamine, Convergent & Divergent Thinking Pathways
00:57:02 InsideTracker
00:58:06 Tool: Open Monitoring Meditation & Divergent Thinking
01:07:38 Tool: Focused Attention Meditation & Convergent Thinking
01:11:06 Mood, Creativity & Dopamine
01:16:00 Tool: Mood Calibrating, Caffeine & Dopamine
01:23:41 Dopamine Supplementation; L-Tyrosine, Caffeine
01:30:15 Tool: Non-Sleep Deep Rest, Mesocortical Dopamine & Divergent Thinking
01:43:13 Serotonin, Psylocibin & Creative Thinking
01:49:13 Alcohol & Autobiographical Scripting; Cannabis
01:52:04 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & Creativity
01:54:45 Tool: Movement & Divergent Thinking
02:01:02 Tool: Narratives & Storytelling for Creativity
02:14:47 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media
The Huberman Lab podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac – https://www.blabacphoto.com
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We have to take action according to our imagination
Dr. Huberman, this episode is wonderful. I was telling my younger daughter about the the protocols you shared about improving creativity and she said, ‘why is this not taught in school’. Thank you for sharing.
Andrew is definitely banksy
ADD here. Lots of ideas (divergent all day every day) but putting structure and focus to it has been the bane of my existence. Now I have a real solution to this lifelong issue.
You are the best. Thank you for all the mind-buggling content
i need your help. I am a "former" mental health patient. who had several major head trams. my memory systems are all jumbled. i am pure creativity most of the time, i feel like my concious and subconcious are fused in some way almost always at least since stopping the meds. I am far better off now most of the time. in fact far better. but I have almost no immediate memory anymore… it is really strange. but my long term ability to learn is still intact as I am a writer of music and simphonies and I am learning… but I create whole symphonies often and would not of known I made them had I not had all the evidence as I move on to the next so quick…. stress makes it worse. death makes it really really really bad. I had a few recently. and I am actually doing ok considering. but it has been over a month and I am just now really hitting the high of the grief which is almost the most extreme horrible/sad/wonderful manic episode.
somewhere in this though my mind seems to have split a little. I do voice acting and I seem to be stuck in my characters most of the time. this is not good. I have always done voices and this is art not just crazy. but now I fear it is actually both and I am freaking out a little. my care takers are gone. but that is ok…. I am more worried that I will still not be speaking in my normal voice by then.
this is really concerning. and I am willing to become a literal lab rat as long as I can make music. you should probably put me in a permanent study. and also I have another plus. I am pretty sure my twin sister has identical symptoms as well as my brother. the only difference is that i was molested in the scouts and seriously abused in school. and the head injuries witch went untreated due to bad doctors. and church crap. conflicts of interest with the molestation they do not want to help much with the county as that would cost them money. and make the system look bad. and sutter davis is involved in the churches and programs and papers involved with the scouts and stuff.
anyway. I do not normally have dyslexia this awful. but this in not the best situation. I can prove most all I have said. I am diagnosed as a genius several times over. I am just trapped behind this dislexia and do not wish to get electrocuted as I have been threatened before…. not thanks. I fear all doctors but would turn myself over for study if no Christians are involved and I am away from sutter. they are total idiots. I fear all medicine because I fear these two groups.
I have done studies before on my brain. but when I can communicate more clearly this time I think I will have a much more clear idea as I use taoist meditation tequniques I have been using along with devoloping my art. and writing. I have a lot of clear thinking….. believe it or not.. And even clearer writing.I think you would be interested if this is your thing.
right now my mind is a tornato. I have to concentrate very hard just to wite. but I am in fact a master wrighter/communicator/reader when not under the influence of my kryptonight.
also I I am almost never this difficult to understand. sorry.
but I mean like get me out of here. I have requested euthanasia multiple times rather than recive more medicine…. but i still fucking want help!!! and I am a mutant genius under all this flurry of wind…. bonafied! Proobable…. please help or I am going to die in the gutters with my other school friends here in davis. please help me. I beg you.
this is so insane I can help you so much…. I have an insiders view of the bipoloar condition like no other person.. and new this new thing. which I think is a form of psychossis breaking threw the fog which causes something like blackouts when I get like this. and yues I am recording myself…. do you think I should try to do more video?
ok sorry I cannot keep a strait thought. I hope your can read threw the mess. I really hope you can.
Look up a group called "odyssey of the mind." Yw ☺️
Maslow already told you serotonin is a requirement for creativity.
Why don't you try to interview different successfull personalities in arts, business, academics etc. From a neuroscience pov. That will give their subjective experiences which may help in better understanding and most importantly will be more interesting!
Man. I usually like your talks but this one is just frustrating. After 45mins of waffle I did not hear one useful point. What is your point? Why can’t you say what you want to say without going from one medical concept to the next. We are not trying to graduate from med school with your podcasts. We are looking for you to distill something useful from all this med Quak Quak. Stop waffling.
annotations
I’m so glad you exist Andrew. Thank you for what you do. ❤️✌️
Ramanujan from India was a maths genius without any formal training
Love your podcasts! So interesting and helpful. You rock!
all i got from this video is that the key to increased creativity is by increasing dopamine and doing a lot of literal nothing
Most famous songs of history are written over a lost love. That is the opposite of running high on drugs and serotonin and getting a kick from dopamine. Would you explain how does your brain function in those instances to be soooooo creative. I have only created my best work when extremely depressed and stressed and seeking/needing escapism.
My good friend huberman gigachad he a good guy
I'm a music producer so this is very useful thanks huberman
Bro looks like he could lead a mafia.
Me using the comment section to be creative*
ok i walked into this with an open mind but the way he rambles on and on about the "mechanics" of creativity makes me realize that this guy is the least creative person on the planet. like hearing a robot talk about what it means to be human
This was an amazing podcast. Thanks Dr. Huberman for all you do!
I’m fairly new to the A.H fan club😅 but love it here! Wondering if you can confirm or possibly agree that there may be a link to Idiopathic Hypersomnia and higher levels of creativity? I would go into my story but it’s SO long! Wish there were more studies on this topic though and this episode hit something.
Thanks Andrew
Escher was especially good at the geometry within illustrated components in his works. He found the design too within the negative spaces. I loved his works. Who ever I lent his book to, please, give it back !
I am an artist, now 30, and I havebeen making art since childhood. A lot of these practices and concepts have been part of my creative process to push my growth and skills, and it is validating to hear it all backed up by neuroscience. I used to bind my own sketch books and label them "bad ideas" to have a place to "safely" practice getting all those ideas out, especially the bad ones to find the good ones. the pressure to make something "good" and "well received" is so strong that it felt like using a normal sketchbook wouldn't be right. Someone might see it! I now proudly show these books full of bad ideas because that is where my work got really interesting at times. (And also terrible at times but I am proud of it nonetheless.) I regularly practice divergent thinking and will start working on convergent thinking as well thank you! And I have ADHD and relate with the convergent thinking issues I have so many ideas outside of art and find it very hard to implement them. 🙁
Can you please please please do a podcast episode on Hypothalamic Amennorhea? 🙏
23:00
Creative process is basically the same when someone does a rap freestyle where everyone reacts surprised or also comedy or creates a melodie which is appealing-> dopamine secretion in the listeners. One comedian once said that comedy works because you take a existing controverse concept and it has a surprising twist. This twist can be the same as revealing something fundamental about your self because it for example activates a stereotype which someone has but might not support but still understands. It makes click.
I loved what you mentioned about Escher! He also pushes the idea of distorted perspective. But what really caught my eye was asking for the person who borrowed your book to return it! I'd also like my book back on Escher!!!
ok but for this episode he shoulda worn a pink floral shirt rather than the usual black
how can this be free?
I like to make visual art, I love writing and singing song and am learning instruments to eventually compose, I write stories I even self-published a novel, I also like to craft and design 3D models and make comedy sketches here on youtube. I really like being creative.
I hate it when people attribute my creativity to my bipolar disorder, makes me feel like it's no longer my accomplishment but just the product of my suffering. I am not negating that certain mental illness and creativity do tend to go together but it kinda sucks to make people feel like they're just creative because they're mentally ill. Kind of dismissive of all the hard work and time creative people put into coming up with ideas and execute them. I would like to be able to feel proud of my creative endeavors.
Pen used as a wand in a world I am building where objects young mages are attached to that are vaguely wand shaped become their wands.
I love foraging for information. I also love foraging for information about actual foraging. Like for berries or mushrooms.
0:15 Creativity is a topic very abstract to many people.
Computational approach to human behavior is very helpful here. A ready program or algorithm is a routine. Generating such a program is creativity. This is not limited to human actions. Computer programs have a data section so you may be equally creative generating some material object or its image.
23:30 Circuits of creativity. Executive network + default mode = controlled hallucinations by Anil Seth.
30:50 Definition of creativity. Creativity is a rearrangement of existing elements into novel combinations that reveal something fundamental about how we or the world works. And it tends to be things that are useful.
Interesting that combining parts into a whole may be performed by a simple neural net. Usually models learn associations of 2 images, the first being a key to retrieve data from memory. Hopfield net is special. It remembers single pictures. Mutual associations are formed between their parts. When the image is activated, these parts support each other by the principle of positive feedback.
Initially, Hopfield net was used to store data, but it can be employed to create a new image. Generate random combinations of elements. Salience block will filter out rubbish. Only valuable ideas will remain.
As to novelty, it is necessary to mention hippocampus. One model was that it functions as a novelty detector. Salience network is triggered from this organ.
This is a personal reminder to Andrew Huberman
I’ll be waiting for you to discuss the topic of Narrative & Storytelling on your channel :0
Dr Huberman, thank you! This was one amazing episode and very relevant for me, not only personally but professionally. I am an Assoc Professor in the UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business (Dublin) and I have just finished teaching my intensive course on Creative Problem Solving offered as a summer elective to MSc management students.
It's the 5th time I'm teaching it (it's once a year) and I rely mostly on combination of cognitive, social and organizational psychology (My degrees are in psychology, with a PhD from Colorado State U); recently, under your influence :-), i started adding doses of neuroscience.
What's fascinating is both the new elements i have learned from this episode as well as the clarification of the neuro mechanisms behind several principles and processes that I have identified, based on integrating mostly psychological research with addition from my 'eastern' practices and learning (meditation/mindfulness, martial arts, Wu Wei… and few other elements such as Koans). The NSDR study, for example, was so spot on. Several elements I teach make even better sense now and i am excited as a mega-geek puppy.
You covered a lot of topics and elements but there are a couple of aspects of creativity that i would love to have exchange with you about. These include focusing on improvisation (possibly the type of creativity i'm most passionate about) and what keeps showing to me more and more as a core element in creativity: the ability to integrate seeming opposites (divergent/convergent thinking is one clear example but there are few others i identified). Also, the relationship between Flow experiences and Creativity (correlation due to common underlying neuro mechanisms; sequential causal relationship; mediation…).
If there is any way that i can exchange (gently, i promise) a couple of email messages with you, i'd be delighted. And regardless: big thank you for the education! I kept referring to you in my summer courses as 'as my favorite neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman said…' 🙂