The diversity of mental states when the default mode network inactive may lead to more creative solutions to problems
One way to think about the blooming of mental states when distinct brain networks are able to communicate and connect more openly when the default mode network is inactive is that it temporarily boosts the sheer amount of diversity in our mental life. If problem solving is anything like evolutionary adaptation, the more possibilities the mind has at its disposal, the more creative its solutions will be. In this sense, high-entropy states in the brain are a bit like variation in evolution: it supplies the diversity of raw materials on which selection can then operate to solve problems and bring novelty into the world. If, as so many artists and scientists have testified, the psychedelic experience is an aid to creativity—to thinking “outside the box”—this model might help explain why that is the case. Maybe the problem with “the box” is that it is singular.
References
- Pollan, Micheal. (2018). How to Change Your Mind Chapter 5. The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Psychedelics (Location 4336). New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Psychology / Neuropsychology Status:☀️