The human brain, with its elegant bilateral symmetry, has long been depicted as a battleground of opposites. On one side: the left hemisphere, logical, analytical, verbal. On the other: the right, creative, intuitive, emotional. This split-brain narrative, popularized in the mid-to-late 20th century, has seeped into everything from personality quizzes to TED Talks, branding people as either “left-brained” or “right-brained”, “rationalists” or “visionaries”.
In truth, however, the brain doesn’t draw such rigid lines between logic and creativity. Far from operating in isolation, the hemispheres are in constant dialogue, connected by a dense bundle of fibers called the corpus callosum. Most complex tasks, from composing a symphony to crafting a scientific hypothesis, light up networks across both sides of the brain. Creativity and logic aren’t rivals pulling us in opposite directions. They are collaborators.
While certain aspects of creativity are linked to increased activity in the right lateral prefrontal cortex, a region involved in generating ideas and combining bits of information in new and original ways, that is just one part of a much larger picture. Creative thought also depends heavily on the default mode network, a collection of brain regions across both hemispheres that become active during mind-wandering, daydreaming, and internal reflection.
But even the boldest ideas need structure. That’s where the executive control network steps in, particularly the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which handles goal-setting, working memory, and critical evaluation. This region doesn’t just shut down during creative thought. In the most generative minds, it works in tandem with the default mode network. Recent functional neuroimaging studies show that artistically creative individuals exhibit simultaneous activation of both networks, toggling between spontaneous ideation and deliberate refinement of those ideas. Innovation, it turns out, is a conversation between different regional brain networks.
In recent years, the neural bases of creativity, including artistic creativity, have become a topic of interest. A recent study investigated how creativity, specifically planning an artwork, affects brain connectivity by comparing professional artists to control participants. Using functional MRI, the researchers found that during the creative task there was stronger functional connectivity between the default mode network, which is associated with generating novel ideas, and the executive control network, which is involved in evaluating and selecting those ideas. This enhanced connectivity was especially pronounced in professional artists.
These findings provide a neural explanation for the observation that even the boldest ideas need structure. The executive control network, particularly the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, supports goal-setting, working memory, and critical evaluation and does not simply shut down during creative thought. Instead, it works closely with the default mode network allowing for a dynamic balance between spontaneous ideation and careful analysis. Thus, artistic creativity emerges from a conversation between these two brain networks rather than from one acting alone.
Moreover, this dynamic interplay fuels creativity beyond art. It applies to everything from a scientist’s experimental design to a poet’s revision process or even a graduate student rewriting a manuscript. Whether troubleshooting a method, interpreting messy data, writing a thesis chapter, or brainstorming a new experiment, our brains constantly balance structure and fluidity, focus and creative freedom.
The myth of the left-brained logician and the right-brained artist doesn’t just oversimplify neuroscience. It undersells us. Innovative thinking comes from blurring this made-up boundary and refusing to fit in a hemisphere-shaped box. Creativity needs constraint. Logic needs imagination. The best ideas come when the whole brain shows up to work.
Mahdieh Golzari-Sorkheh
Latest posts by Mahdieh Golzari-Sorkheh (see all)
- Beyond Left and Right: The Neuroscience of Creativity and Logic - October 2, 2025