2a182015 Dartmouth researchers discover how and where imagination ocurs in human brains | EurekAlert! Science News PUBLIC RELEASE: 16-SEP-2013 Dartmouth researchers discover how and where imagination occurs in human brains New insights into 'mental workspace! may help advance artificial intelligence DARTMOUTH COLLEGE Fe MPC ML Me Mi Mon MF lar MSE FO NS IMAGE: ELEVEN AREAS OF THE BRAIN ARE ‘SHOWING DIFFERENTIAL ACTIVITY LEVELS IN A. DARTMOUTH STUDY USING FUNCTIONAL MRI TO MEASURE HOW HUMANS MANIPULATE MENTAL IMAGERY. view more> CREDIT: ALEX SCHLEGEL Philosophers and scientists have long puzzled over where human imagination comes from. In other words, what makes humans able to create art, invent tools, think scientifically and perform other incredibly diverse behaviors? The answer, Dartmouth researchers conclude in a new study, lies in a widespread neural network — the brain's “mental workspace" -- that consciously manipulates images, symbols, ideas and theories and gives humans the laser-like mental focus needed to solve complex problems and come up with new ideas. Their findings, titled "Network structure and dynamics of the mental workspace," appear the week of Sept. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Our findings move us closer to understanding how the organization of our brains sets us apart from other species and provides such a rich internal playground for us to think freely and creatively," says lead author Alex Schlegel , a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Inpurekalertrgipub_releases/2012-calde-drd001313.php 1“usvanis Dartmouth cesearcers ciscover how and where imagiation occurs inhuman bai | EurekAlert! Sclence News and Brain Sciences. "Understanding these differences will give us insight into where human creativity comes from and possibly allow us to recreate those same creative processes in machines." Scholars theorize that human imagination requires a widespread neural network in the brain, but evidence for such a "mental workspace" has been difficult to produce with techniques that mainly study brain activity in isolation, Dartmouth researchers addressed the issue by asking: How does the brain allow us to manipulate mental imagery? For instance, imagining a bumblebee with the head of a bull, a seemingly effortless task but one that requires the brain to construct a totally new image and make it appear in our mind's eye. In the study, 15 participants were asked to imagine specific abstract visual shapes and then to mentally combine them into new more complex figures or to mentally dismantle them into their separate parts. Researchers measured the participants’ brain activity with functional MRI and found a cortical and subcortical network over a large part of the brain was responsible for their imagery manipulations. The network closely resembles the "mental workspace" that scholars have theorized might be responsible for much of human conscious experience and for the flexible cognitive abilities that humans have evolved. HE Available to comment are Alex Schlegel at schlegel@gmail.corm and co-author Professor Peter Tse at Peter.U.Tse@dartmouth.edu. This study was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and by a Templeton Foundation Grant. Broadcast studios: Dartmouth has TV and radio studios available for interviews. For more information, visit: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/radio-tv-studios/ Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system Media Contact John Cramer john.cramer@dartmouth.edu 603-646-9130 ¥ @dartmouth http://www.dartmouth.edu @ Inpurekalertrgipub_releases/2012-calde-drd001313.phpa018 Dartmouth researchers discover how and where imagination occurs in human brains | EurekAlert! Sclenoe News, | More on this News Release Dartmouth researchers discover how and where imagination occurs in human brains DARTMOUTH COLLEGE JOURNAL Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences KEYWORDS MULTIMEDIA Mental Workspace (IMAGE) Ce | Breaking News © Cognitive impairment predicts worse outcome in heart failure EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY © New survey shows 36-percent increase in pediatric patients treated with proton therapy SCRIPPS HEALTH © Depression associated with 5-fold increased mortality risk in heart failure patients EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY © Deciphering clues to prehistoric climate changes locked in cave deposits VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY View all breaking news> | Trending Science News Inpurekalertrgipub_releases/2012-calde-drd001313.phpas2016 Dartmoutresearcers discover hw and whereimagaton coc inhuman ais | EurekAlert! 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