Featured Presentations and Publications
Dawson Hill
Hill, D, Taniguchi, Y, Schlief, M, Cullen, K.R. (2020) Becoming Artists: Using Creative Writing to Change the Brain. Poster presentation for the Society for Neuroscience.
Abstract:
Becoming Artists: Using Creative Writing to Change the Brain
Identity formation is a critical part of adolescent development that requires creativity and openness to “try on” different identities. Depression often manifests in rigid thinking, causing adolescents to get stuck in negative thoughts and self-view. Depression hijacks the ability to think creatively about oneself, takes away openness to new ideas, and forces a prematurely foreclosed identity as a “depressed” person. Engagement in creative processes may be able to disrupt this negative thought loop by improving divergent thinking ability, which may open up pathways for healthy identity formation and a positive self-view.
We are currently implementing a program in an adolescent mental health unit in which adolescents engage in creative writing exercises including poetry. The goals for this program are to help adolescents develop as artists, while also improving self-view. Adolescents are given feedback to promote their creative writing skills and encourage them as artists.
Next steps are to incorporate resting-state fMRI before and after the creative arts intervention. Examination of neural changes related to creative thinking will focus on entropy of resting-state fMRI signals, which we propose is a reflection of brain flexibility. We hypothesize that training with creative writing will improve brain flexibility, allowing adolescents to achieve insight. We will investigate brain entropy as a neural treatment target, setting the stage for an experimental therapeutics approach to further test the creative arts intervention. We hope to show that by promoting creative thinking, we will enhance brain flexibility and encourage adolescents to improve their self-view.
