A new study published in the journal of Cognitive Science has helped shed light on the creative genius of neurotic people. The recent researches that have been made in relation to daydreamers’ brain activity has led study author Adam Perkins into thinking that people who worry more have the ability to find creative solutions to their problems.
Scientists have always looked up to geniuses hoping the latter can give them the secret recipe to improve their brain activity. Unfortunately, a recent study claims geniuses are born this way and there isn’t much you can do to change your nature.
This assumption was uttered by Dr. Adam Perkins from King’s College London in awe of the recent findings that have been made in neuroscience. The psychology expert told the press that he made his discovery while attending co-author’s Jonathan Smallwood’s presentation on mind wandering.
According to Smallwood daydreaming episodes occur in the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain. This region is usually associated with memories, which means people who lose themselves in imaginative scenarios actually linger more on memories.
Perkins tried to get to the bottom of this problem by asking natural daydreamers to subject themselves to several MRI scans. During these medical tests, respondents started imagining various situations; thus activating their medial prefrontal cortex.
Interestingly enough, researchers noticed that people who spend more time daydreaming were more anxious than the rest of the participants. Neurotic people are, by definition, anxious, shy and angry individuals, particularly when they cannot find a solution to a certain problem that is bothering them. Which has led Perkins into concluding that neurotic people have a natural creative genius.
These people spent much more time recollecting memories from their medial prefrontal cortex. They never stop imagining until the problem is not entirely solved. A method that was frequently used by geniuses like Isaac Newton and Winston Churchill.
The psychologist has further stated that neurotic people tend to worry more about things in general. Most of their daydreaming refers to possibly dangerous situations, which explains why they often feel unhappy. Their continuous brood on fatalistic scenarios eventually leads to solutions, Perkins has concluded.
Although there are still many discussions left to make about the factors that cause neurotic people to behave the way they do, one thing is for sure: an anxious mind has a genius-like creativity. Perkins estimates that many researchers will evince interest in this domain due to the new findings that he and his colleague have made.
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