The Drive for Creativity and the Escape from Creativity: Neurocognitive Mechanisms

We discuss cognitive bases for creative versus non-creative knowledge acquisition and suggest neural substrates for these processes. Cognitive mechanisms driving the human mind both toward and away from creativity are related to ancient mechanisms of adaptive behavior. A paradoxical role of language is discussed: on the one hand, language makes higher cognition possible; on the other, language enables heuristic thinking, using millennial truths instead of original creative thinking. Creativity requires overcoming cognitive dissonances and choosing task relevance over salience. Functions of conceptual, emotional, conscious, and unconscious mechanisms are analyzed and related to various brain regions. Future research directions are discussed.