The Neural Mechanism Underlying Cognitive and Emotional Processes in Creativity

Abstract

Creativity is related to both cognition and emotion, which are the two major mental processes, interacting with each other to form psychological processes. Emotion is the major driving force of almost all creativities, sometimes in an unconscious way. Even though there are many studies concerning the relationship between creativity and cognition, there are few studies about the neural mechanisms of the emotional effects on creativity. Here, we introduce a novel model to explain the relationship between emotions and creativities: Three Primary Color model, which proposes that there are four major basic emotions; these basic emotions are subsided by three monoamines, just like the three primary colors: dopamine-joy, norepinephrine-stress (fear and anger), and serotonin-punishment. Interestingly, these three neuromodulators play similar roles in creativity, whose core features are value and novelty (surprise), like the characteristics of the core features of basic emotions (hedonic value and arousal value). Dysfunctions of these neuromodulators may be the reasons for both psychopathology and creativity, in that they can change the thinking styles such as novelty seeking behavior, hyper-connectivity of brain areas, and/or cognitive disinhibition to induce both creativity and psychopathology. This new model will not only help researchers understand the dynamics of basic emotion elements, it can also bring an entirely new perspective into the relationship between psychopathology and creativity.

Keywords: basic emotions; cognition; core affect; creativity; monoamine.

FIGURE 1

Circumplex model of emotions. One example of self-report datum about circumplex model. All emotions, including the basic emotions can find their locations in the circle of the circumplex.

FIGURE 2

Two dimensional model of basic emotions. Emotions can be induced by two affective qualities of a stimulus: the valence of the stimulus and the way the stimulus occurs. Horizontal dimension shows the valence of the stimulus, which means the hedonic quality of a stimulus or situations when they fit into personal needs (pleasant–unpleasant). Vertical dimension shows how the way a stimulus or situations occur, which means unexpected or uncertainty.

FIGURE 3

Three primary color models of basic emotions. The four basic emotions: fear-anger, joy, sad, or three core affects are subsided by the release of three monoamine neuromodulators (norepinephrine-stress, dopamine-reward, and serotonin-punishment).

FIGURE 4

Two features of creativity. Value and novelty are two basic quantities of arts, similar to hedonic value and arousal value of core affects, which are subsided by the release of two catecholamine neuromodulators (norepinephrine-stress, dopamine-reward).

FIGURE 5

Stress induced emotion flow. Like Lazarus suggested, there are two kinds of appraisals, the primary appraisal is to find the fearful situation, and the secondary appraisal to find the ability to cope with the situation. Fear is due to the first appraisal, and anger is due to the secondary appraisal. And afterwards, there will be reappraisal, which includes emotion based rethinking positively/negatively about the situation. Stress–Fear–Response (anger)– Consequences (happiness or sadness) constitute the emotional flow in our everyday lives. Similarly, creativity value is due to successfully coping with the situation.