What happens in our brains when we compose a melody, write a poem, paint a picture, or choreograph a dance sequence? How is this different from what occurs in the brain when we generate a new theory or a scientific hypothesis? In this book, Anna Abraham reveals how the tools of neuroscience can be employed to uncover the answers to these and other vital questions. She explores the intricate workings of our creative minds to explain what happens in our brains when we operate in a creative mode versus an uncreative mode. The vast and complex field that is the neuroscience of creativity is disentangled and described in an accessible manner, balancing what is known so far with critical issues that are as yet unresolved. Clear guidelines are also provided for researchers who pursue the big questions in their bid to discover the creative mind.
What happens in our brains when we compose a melody, write a poem, paint a picture, or choreograph a dance sequence? How is this different from what occurs in the brain when we generate a new theory or a scientific hypothesis? In this book, Anna Abraham reveals how the tools of neuroscience can be employed to uncover the answers to these and other vital questions. She explores the intricate workings of our creative minds to explain what happens in our brains when we operate in a creative mode versus an uncreative mode. The vast and complex field that is the neuroscience of creativity is disentangled and described in an accessible manner, balancing what is known so far with critical issues that are as yet unresolved. Clear guidelines are also provided for researchers who pursue the big questions in their bid to discover the creative mind.
The human imagination manifests in countless different forms. We imagine the possible and the impossible. How do we do this so effortlessly? Why did the capacity for imagination evolve and manifest with undeniably manifold complexity uniquely in human beings? This handbook reflects on such questions by collecting perspectives on imagination from leading experts. It showcases a rich and detailed analysis on how the imagination is understood across several disciplines of study, including anthropology, archaeology, medicine, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and the arts. An integrated theoretical-empirical-applied picture of the field is presented, which stands to inform researchers, students, and practitioners about the issues of relevance across the board when considering the imagination. With each chapter, the nature of human imagination is examined – what it entails, how it evolved, and why it singularly defines us as a species.
The human imagination manifests in countless different forms. We imagine the possible and the impossible. How do we do this so effortlessly? Why did the capacity for imagination evolve and manifest with undeniably manifold complexity uniquely in human beings? This handbook reflects on such questions by collecting perspectives on imagination from leading experts. It showcases a rich and detailed analysis on how the imagination is understood across several disciplines of study, including anthropology, archaeology, medicine, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and the arts. An integrated theoretical-empirical-applied picture of the field is presented, which stands to inform researchers, students, and practitioners about the issues of relevance across the board when considering the imagination. With each chapter, the nature of human imagination is examined – what it entails, how it evolved, and why it singularly defines us as a species.
