SynthesisBrain and behavior2016
Functional neuroimaging of visual creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Brain and behavior, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Consistent neural evidence to support novelty and appropriateness processing for creative thinking: a coordinated meta-analysis using activation likelihood estimation.Brain structure & function · 2026Pooled it
- Acute and Chronic Physical Activity Increases Creative Ideation Performance: A Systematic Review and Multilevel Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of divergent thinking using activation likelihood estimation.Human brain mapping · 2020Pooled it
- Mapping the artistic brain: Common and distinct neural activations associated with musical, drawing, and literary creativity.Human brain mapping · 2020Pooled it
- Functional neuroimaging of visual creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain and behavior · 2016Pooled it
- Neurocognitive differences in sketching between design tasks and creativity tests.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Material context moderates the occupation-adjusted association between Visualization and prefrontal hemodynamics during naturalistic design: an exploratory wearable fNIRS study.Frontiers in neuroergonomics · 2026Article
- Cognitive and neural mechanisms of mental imagery supporting creative cognition.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Does regular engagement with arts and creative activities improve adolescent mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and assessment of causality.SSM - population health · 2025Review
- Neural correlates of evaluative bias against artificial intelligence-labeled versus human-labeled artworks.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2025Article
- Exploring the neural basis of creativity: EEG analysis of power spectrum and functional connectivity during creative tasks in school-aged children.Frontiers in computational neuroscience · 2025Article
- From Brushstrokes to Brainpower: A Systematic Review on the Influence of Out-of-School Visual Art Activities on Chinese Adolescents' Cognitive Skill Development.Psychology research and behavior management · 2025Review
- Correlations of pilot trainees' brainwave dynamics with subjective performance evaluations: insights from EEG microstate analysis.Frontiers in neuroergonomics · 2025Article
- Modulation effects of imagery acupuncture and no-touch double-blinded placebo acupuncture, a cross-over pilot study.Brain behavior and immunity integrative · 2024Article
- Investigating the neural substrate variations between easy and challenging creative association tasks during product design within an fMRI scanner.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2024Article
- Article
- EEG-based study of design creativity: a review on research design, experiments, and analysis.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2024Review
- Where in the brain is creativity? The fallacy of a creativity faculty in the brain.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- A Supervised Machine Learning Approach to Classify Brain Morphology of Professional Visual Artists versus Non-Artists.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Enhanced white matter fiber tract of the cortical visual system in visual artists: implications for creativity.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe generation of creative visual imagery contributes to technological and scientific innovation and production of visual art. The underlying cognitive and neural processes are, however, poorly understood.
methodsThis review synthesizes functional neuroimaging studies of visual creativity. Seven functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and 19 electroencephalography (EEG) studies were included, comprising 27 experiments and around 800 participants.
resultsActivation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of the fMRI studies comparing visual creativity to non-rest control tasks yielded significant clusters in thalamus, left fusiform gyrus, and right middle and inferior frontal gyri. The EEG studies revealed a tendency for decreased alpha power during visual creativity compared to baseline, but comparisons of visual creativity to non-rest control tasks revealed inconsistent findings.
conclusionsThe findings are consistent with suggested contributions to visual creativity of prefrontally mediated inhibition, evaluation, and working memory, as well as visual imagery processes. Findings are discussed in relation to prominent theories of the neural basis of creativity.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.