Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39589388›Full record

ReviewEpilepsia open2024

Creativity and its link to epilepsy.

Itay Tokatly Latzer, Phillip L Pearl

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Epilepsia open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Music as a scientific metaphor for mind and brain.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Itay Tokatly LatzerDepartment of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3132-1379
Phillip L PearlDepartment of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6373-1068

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Creative thinking represents one of our highest-order cognitive processes, involving multiple cortical structures and an intricate interplay between several cortical and subcortical networks. It results in novel ideas that translate to useful products or concepts. The evolutionary purpose of creativity is therefore apparent, as it advances our adaptation and survival. Elucidating the neurobiology and neuroanatomy of creative cognition is challenging because the construct of creativity is not clearly defined, and the many neuropsychological measures attempting to assess it are often biased, leading to imprecise findings. Using examples from the medical and music fields, creativity is demonstrably linked to the default mode network (DMN), which has the unique property of becoming activated at times of "quiet wakefulness," facilitating "defaulted" internally focused cognitive operations. Creative thoughts result from a process involving the activation and deactivation of the DMN as part of a dynamic interplay shared with the central executive network and affective salience network. The question is posed whether seizures originating from DMN-related cortical areas should be considered as having overlap with eloquent cortex, potentially exempting them from removal in epilepsy surgery. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Creative thinking is a higher-order cognitive process involving multiple brain structures and networks. It results in insightful and original thoughts that translate to useful products or concepts, which allow us to adapt to our surroundings. This Narrative Review presents conceptual, investigational, and neurobiological aspects of creativity, including information about a unique brain network termed "default mode network (DMN)," which activates at times of "quiet wakefulness," facilitating internally focused cognitive operations. The review ends with a discussion on whether regions of the DMN from which seizures originate should be regarded as "eloquent" and their removal should be deferred by epilepsy surgery.

Indexed as

default mode networkeloquentmusicneurobiologyseizures

Identifiers

PMID39589388
PMCPMC13395049

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.