ABSTRACT
Historically, there has been a close relation between insight problems and problems that require creative solutions, although the mechanisms that are thought to mediate the two types of problem solving are considered to be different. A few useful trends have emerged for understanding the neural bases of creative cognition. First, the neural bases of creative cognition, in particular those related to hypothesis generation including set shifts, differ from the neural correlates of insight solutions. In the second trend, left and right hemispheres appear to function differently based on the nature of the problem at hand. Additional support for the functional distinction between the ventral and dorsal aspects of right prefrontal cortex is available from imaging studies. Equally important is determining whether the cortical structures that underlie creative cognition also mediate other related phenomena that have been linked to creativity, such as insight solution.
