The Genetics of Creativity

University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
PsychologyNeuroscience
Open Access
$10
Raised of $25,000 Goal
1%
Ended on 2/12/15
Campaign Ended
  • $10
    pledged
  • 1%
    funded
  • Finished
    on 2/12/15

About This Project

Our goal is to determine whether there are genes that help creativity to flourish in the human brain. Are there one, dozens, or thousands? To what extent does the environment help genes to "turn on" or lie dormant? Do genes affect each type of creativity (e.g., flow versus insight) in different ways, or all types equally?

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What is the context of this research?

We have embarked upon the first systematic study regarding how creativity arises in the brain. Many researchers, around the world, have undertaken to understand this important human capacity. However, no overarching theory currently exists as to how creative cognition emerged and flourishes in the human brain. Our studies have led to several unique insights: 1) creativity involves several discrete elements of human cognitive capacity, which overlap reasoning abilities important to deductive and inductive problem solving; 2) both increased and decreased brain capacity appears to be involved in creative cognition, serving elements of blind variation (extrapolation of ideas), and selective retention (picking the best one); 3) not just one, but many brain regions are involved in creativity.

What is the significance of this project?

If we could better understand how creativity arises in the human brain, we could endeavor to cultivate it, grow it, and preserve it as we develop and age. We envision an enduring impact of this area of research that might ultimately allow for reasonable translation from research studies to classrooms, work environments, and even to ways in which parents cultivate the young minds in their care.

What are the goals of the project?

We seek funding to analyze genetic data collected to correlate with brain and behavioral measures collected from a very large (N=250) sample of normal, healthy, human subjects. The analysis of genetic correlates of creativity will allow for deeper understanding regarding the interplay of reasoning ability, psychopathology, and various non-cognitive factors (e.g., personality) as they affect the manifestation of creativity.

Budget

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The minimum cost to conduct SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) analysis on our sample of 250 subjects would be $100 per sample. Thus, the minimum cost would be 250x$100=$25,000 for the project to succeed. We can do more with more sophisticated (e.g., whole genome) analyses, although these are infinitely more expensive...

Meet the Team

Rex Jung
Rex Jung

Team Bio

I trace the beginning of my career to when I began volunteering for Special Olympics and met a group of people that changed my life. These people had brains that were different from mine: some had autism, others microcephaly, Down syndrome, epilepsy, cerebral palsy.

I learned about a discipline called neuropsychology that seemed to be at the right spot between medicine and psychology, with a focus on how the brain and behavior are linked. I started back to school at the late age of 28 and got out some 10 years later with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (specializing in neuropsychology). I have never been happier with a decision. I spend half of my time doing research in things like intelligence, creativity, and schizophrenia, and the other half evaluating patients with a wide range of brain problems: epilepsy, tumors, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and the like.

I came to New Mexico for graduate school and hope to never leave; it is my home and the place that I love.

Lab Notes

Nothing posted yet.

Press and Media

Our research has been featured prominently within the popular press:

1. New York Times: “Charting Creativity: Signposts of a Hazy Territory” Patricia Cohen, 04/07/10. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/books/08creative...
2. The Washington Post: “Creativity can last well into old age, as long as creators stay open to new ideas”, Tara Bahrampour, 11/21/13. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/creativity-can...

Blogs:
1. The Daily Beast; Andrew Sullivan, “Rap Your Head Around This” 11/20/12. http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2012/11/20/how-the-...
2. Psychology Today; John Allen, “Creativity, the Brain, and Evolution” 04/29/10. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/lives-the-brai...
3. Scientific American Mind, Scott Barry Kaufman, “The Real Neuroscience of Creativity” 08/19/13. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-mind...

And Podcasts:
1. On Being with Krista Tippett, American Public Media, “Creativity and the Everyday Brain”; March 22, 2012. http://www.onbeing.org/program/creativity-and-ever...



Project Backers

  • 1Backers
  • 1%Funded
  • $10Total Donations
  • $10.00Average Donation
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