The neurology of creativity: Focus on music

Abstract

Creativity has been a very difficult human quality to study, but is now beginning to be understood at the neurobiological level. The most recent theories suggest that the major lobes of the brain, in particular interactions between the frontal lobes and temporal lobes, are critical for maximizing the potential for creative endeavors. The neural circuitry of the limbic system, as well as catecholaminergic neurotransmitter pathways and their lobar interactions, is also important in the process. Music is one of the most creative and complex of all human activities and appears to involve numerous regions and pathways within the brain. The process of listening to music involves many specialized regions, including the auditory pathways, Heschl’s gyrus, the planum temporale (PT), and auditory association areas. Musical performance involves coordination between the neuromuscular system while playing an instrument, with simultaneous and constant auditory feedback on the quality of the performance and the need for any necessary adjustments. The process of music perception while listening or performing requires acoustical analysis of pitch, melody, and harmony, the use of auditory memories, analysis of musical syntax and emotional responses, and many other functions, all performed over a matter of milliseconds in the dedicated musical neural networks in the brain. In addition, the brains of musicians and non-musicians are now known to be different, with musicians having specialized networks and connections as a result of formal musical training. The origins of music, as well as the anatomical and neurobiological underpinnings of musical perception, performance, and training, are reviewed in detail.