The Science of Creativity & How to Enhance Creative Innovation | Huberman Lab Podcast 103

In this episode, I explain how the brain engages in creative thinking and, based on that mechanistic understanding, the tools to improve one’s ability to think creatively and innovate in any area. I discuss how convergent and divergent thinking are essential for generating creative ideas and provide three types of meditation tools (open monitoring meditation, focused attention meditation & non-sleep deep rest; NSDR), which improve our ability to engage in these creative thinking patterns in specific and powerful ways. I also discuss how dopamine and mood contribute to the creative process and describe behavioral, nutritional and supplementation-based approaches for increasing dopamine to engage in creative thought and implementation. I explain how movement and storytelling (narrative) approaches can generate novel creative ideas and how substances like alcohol, cannabis, and psilocybin impact our creative ability. Excitingly, creativity is a skill that can be cultivated and enhanced; this episode outlines many tools to help anyone access creativity and apply creative patterns of thought to different domains of life.

#HubermanLab #Creativity #Science

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Timestamps
00:00:00 Creativity
00:04:30 ROKA, Thesis, LMNT, Momentous
00:08:51 What is Creativity?
00:11:16 Creativity in Visual Arts, Escher & Banksy
00:23:37 Neural Circuits of Creativity
00:31:58 AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:33:13 Creative Ideas & Divergent Thinking
00:42:09 Testing Creative Ideas & Convergent Thinking
00:46:41 Dopamine, Convergent & Divergent Thinking Pathways
00:57:02 InsideTracker
00:58:06 Tool: Open Monitoring Meditation & Divergent Thinking
01:07:38 Tool: Focused Attention Meditation & Convergent Thinking
01:11:06 Mood, Creativity & Dopamine
01:16:00 Tool: Mood Calibrating, Caffeine & Dopamine
01:23:41 Dopamine Supplementation; L-Tyrosine, Caffeine
01:30:15 Tool: Non-Sleep Deep Rest, Mesocortical Dopamine & Divergent Thinking
01:43:13 Serotonin, Psylocibin & Creative Thinking
01:49:13 Alcohol & Autobiographical Scripting; Cannabis
01:52:04 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & Creativity
01:54:45 Tool: Movement & Divergent Thinking
02:01:02 Tool: Narratives & Storytelling for Creativity
02:14:47 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media

The Huberman Lab podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

[inthedougout]

These podcasts make me feel so unbelievably alive. I have had a share of painfully difficult times. Every week, you teach me, and the world, ways to better understand ourselves and methods for maximizing our potential and growth. Thank you, Dr Huberman.

[SahajTalwar]

I'm not one to get emotional very easily, but I'll be honest, seeing Dr Huberman, @17:14, get emotional talking about Costello, that did it for me.

Their bond, their connection was so palpable, so honest, so pure.
You could see the smile on Dr Huberman's face anytime he talked about him.

You know your science Dr Huberman, but I'll tell you this.. I'm sure Costello is in a better place. I'm sure he enjoyed the daily morning runs even more than you. And I'm also sure, you gave him the best life he possibly could've asked for.

Thank you for your channel Dr Huberman. Over the course of these videos, we truly have formed a bond, much deeper than we can describe, with you.
Thank you for it all.

[austinhamilton]

2 million subs!! Huge congrats Andrew. You're literally the #1 science based podcast that has the most useable knowledge that is bettering the lives of so many, including myself. Cheers to the success and many more milestones to come🥂

[titania]

This episode is particularly relevant for me since I've just been awarded an Arts Council grant here in the UK called a "developing your creative practice" grant, to "collide" neuroscience from your own podcasts with non-human characters from Star Trek in novel creative ways that, hopefully, will be meaningful (!) and will shed new light on what it means to be human. I've only listened to the first half of this episode and it's already sparking ideas for how I might do this!

[mikeswll]

Occasionally I'll come across an episode that I know I'm going to watch over and over again .The pathways of Stamping this knowledge in my brain .
Thanks Dr Huberman for the enlightening Knowledge

[Arayav]

man just described how to literally raise your vibe no drugs or mysticism required love it

[Learna_Hydralis]

As a strong supplement for this episode, I recommend the work of prof. Kenneth Stanley and his great book "why greatness cannot be planned".

[rachidhamzaoui]

I urge u to chek out a tybe of meditation <salat> that Muslims do 5 times a day which compine the tools that u talk about in podcast to implement divergent and convergent thinking

[gil]

Dear Dr Huberman,
Thank you a lot for this very interesting episode! As always immensely useful! I am a big fan of your podcast.
However, based on the study of Kjaer et al. (Cognitive Brain Research 2002), I disagree with your conclusion that NSDR/yoga NIDRA would specifically induce nigro-striatal dopamine release. In this study, Kjaer et al. used 11c-raclopride PET to assess in vivo dopamine release, and found significant tracer displacement in the ventral striatum (aka, the nucleus accumbens), and not in the dorsal striatum (caudate and putamen).
First, this would suggest specific dopamine release in the meso-limbic dopamine pathway, and not the nirgro-striatal pathway as suggested.
Second, these data do not exclude significant dopamine release in extra-striatal regions (eg, in the meso-cortical DA pathway). Indeed, because of its "relatively low" affinity for dopamine D2 receptors, 11C-raclopride is not an appropriate radioligand to assess dopamine release in extra-striatal regions where the concentration of the dopamine D2R is much lower than in the striatum (this can be achieved with other radioligands, such as 11C-FLB 457 or 18F-Fallypride, which have much higher affinity for the dopamine D2R). In the study of Kjaer et al, the meso-cortical pathway has therefore not been examined, and dopamine release in extra-striatal regions may thus also be at work during yoga nidra / NSDR.
Hope this comment reaches you well, and would love to get your thoughts on this.
Kind regards ans merry Christmas 🌲
Gil Leurquin-Sterk, MD, PhD

[dickersonart]

Divergent thinking comes easy but when I try to make it sensible for others it is very difficult. At first I thought it was a fluency of thought issue but quite the opposite. Now I understand I need to practice convergent thinking. Also HL podcast is very creative according to the standard definition... prior knowledge, science presented in a novel way, and many others find it very useful. 💜

[AnnKrilanovich]

Love your podcasts. I'm 72 and still changing, growing, learning, experimenting. Thanks.

[mustafaamir]

Do you understand what this information is worth? It's priceless! Creatives spend their lives trying to figure themselves out and to learn or master themselves and once they do there is no metric of judgment whether they are right completely. This is powerful, to say the least for anyone that this means something to.

I had been working on an organizational design that incorporates and centralizes creativity for creative endeavors. And this has confirmed a lot of my queries. Thank you, Huberman!!!

[hiim]

I'm currently studying medicine and I want to be like you doctor Huberman...you're really a good mentor. Your advice on sunlight exposure improved my mood and focus pretty decently. Thanks 😊

[jvdatta]

Hey Busy man, thank you for spending time for our sake.

[TripakKk]

I just wanted to take a moment to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for all of the incredible content you create. As someone who is fascinated by the inner workings of the brain and nervous system, I am constantly in awe of the insights and discoveries that you share with your audience. Your dedication to spreading knowledge and understanding about the complex and intricate field of neuroscience is truly admirable, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from you.

Your videos and articles are always so informative and engaging, and I have learned so much from them. Your ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner is truly impressive, and it makes your content accessible to people of all levels of understanding. You have a real talent for breaking down complex ideas and making them understandable to the average person, and I can't thank you enough for that.

I was wondering if you might consider making an episode on problem solving in the future. I am very interested in learning more about how the brain approaches and solves problems, and I think it would be an incredibly valuable and interesting topic to explore.

Your work is truly inspiring, and it has sparked my own curiosity and desire to learn more about the brain and how it works. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from you, and I am constantly amazed by the depth and breadth of your knowledge. Thank you again for all that you do, and please keep up the amazing work!

[KageTheKiwi]

Kia ora, Prof. Huberman!!

I'm KJ & I'm 24 and am a musician by vocation (unconditional, or even "divine" or "cosmic" connection)

I've always struggled with the implementation side of the creative coin, as the formulation side is only adaptive to our external world IF we can implement it!

Thank you SO much for everything you do, & continue to do.. Your service to the world will go down in the archives of the Intiates of the Flame: these men are seldom recognized as the greats that they are in their time, yet still find vague successes throughout their lives.. Think me arrogant sure, but I am one myself.. I recognize it within you Prof. Huberman & I'm SO thankful I found your channel..

Your insight has definitely helped this krazy Kiwi stave off the neurotic madness ❤

I almost feel like Captain America in a way, like a man out of time 😅 or a man not in the right time, I guess.. Not too sure how to articulate it

Would LOVE to talk to you ANY time my good man, I might not have much to give in terms of "life advice" but I am one in 300, in terms of what dictates "creativity".. Not tooting my own horn, but merely a humble brag to get your attention & start your mind motoring 😅

[FedericoPalma]

It couldnt have arrived in a better time for me. This morning I sat my son to tell him a lot of stuff I had learned from you. Muchas gracias Andres!!! Sos el Messi de la Medicina en Youtube!!! Saludos desde Argentina!!!!

[alobassmann]

Its very interesting to hear about non sleep deep rest since I always experienced intense creative thinking when sitting on a bus or other travel medium for long periods of time. As if the idea of sitting still and looking out a window always elicits this kind of "trance" state where a lot of the creative thinking happens for me.

[harshivchhabra]

I never had a role model growing up. I'm happy I've found one now in Andrew.

[monkeymindbananas]

Andrew, you are the most important pod cast today. Your delivery, knowledge and ability to communicate is perfect for a subject that I believe if ANYONE else was doing it would put me to sleep, adhd and all lol. I'm also a member of MENSA and a serious nerd, but also a combat vet and alpha male, so your right up my alley.