The secret ingredients for creative flow

This episode of The Conversation Weekly explores the neuroscience of creative flow, featuring an interview with John Kounios, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Drexel University. Kounios discusses his research on the mental state of creative flow, particularly his study involving jazz musicians improvising while their brain activity was monitored. The research indicates that experienced musicians exhibit a specialized brain network in the left hemisphere associated with high flow states and a release of cognitive control in the frontal lobes, contrasting with less experienced musicians who engage the right hemisphere and exert more conscious control. The episode also touches on the evolutionary purpose of flow, suggesting it provides neural rewards for successful activities, and explores techniques to achieve this state by balancing expertise with the ability to release conscious control.