A study published in Cerebral Cortex links creative drawing ability to the brain’s white matter wiring, suggesting creativity relies on a broad network of connected systems rather than a single ‘creative centre’.
Researchers have long tied creativity to large brain networks involved in imagination, attention and decision-making. But they sought to understand the physical wiring that allows these networks to communicate, focusing on white matter, the bundles that connect different brain regions. Previous findings have been inconsistent; this study aimed to see whether the condition of these pathways relates to people’s ability to produce creative drawings and whether a newer imaging measure might reveal connections traditional tests miss.
The study, led by Julius Voss of the University of Graz in Austria, involved 142 adults aged 18 to 38 (average 24.06 years; 85 women and 57 men). Most participants were students, all were right-handed and largely sedentary, and the project formed part of a larger examination of physical activity. Each participant completed a drawing task in which six fragments of lines and shapes had to be transformed into a finished picture within 15 minutes.
Drawings were scored with the Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production, a standardised creativity assessment that evaluated not only unusualness but also how well the fragments were built upon, composition, emotional expression, humour, page use and willingness to break conventional boundaries. Scores could reach up to 72 points, with the average around 25.
Participants also underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging to map water movement through brain tissue. The researchers examined two features of white matter: fractional anisotropy, a traditional measure of fibre organisation, and quantitative anisotropy, which provides additional information about fibre density and complex crossing pathways.
After adjusting for age and sex, individuals with higher creativity scores tended to have higher quantitative anisotropy across a widespread network of white matter pathways. The associations were small to moderate in size. The strongest links involved pathways connecting the cortex with deeper motor-related structures, including the corticostriatal, corticopontine and corticospinal tracts, along with the medial lemniscus, which carries touch and body-position signals.
Although these pathways are tied to movement and motor control, the study notes they also support processes such as goal-directed behaviour, creative imagery and mental flexibility. Notably, many corticostriatal and corticopontine fibres linked to creativity originated from rear and visual regions of the cortex, suggesting visual input plays an important role in drawing creativity.
The researchers also identified associations in the corpus callosum, which connects the brain’s two halves, and in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus—long routes linking visual areas with frontal and temporal regions. Because these tracts connect several networks linked to creative thinking, the authors argue the findings fit models in which creativity depends on communication across multiple networks.
Quantitative anisotropy detected broader and stronger associations than fractional anisotropy, with the latter not reaching statistical significance at the main threshold. Weaker positive associations—mostly overlapping with the QA results—appeared below the threshold, and no negative associations emerged with either measure, contrasting with some earlier studies using verbal tasks.
The authors contend that quantitative anisotropy may better capture complex fibre architectures, such as crossing pathways. They conclude that the results align with the view that “the performance of creative ideation is not driven by single dominant connections, but rather emerges from the dynamic interplay of numerous partially overlapping network resources.”
Several caveats accompany the findings. The study assessed only drawing-based creativity and does not speak to other forms such as writing or improvisation. Because measurements were taken at a single time point, the research cannot prove that stronger white matter causes greater creativity.
Additionally, the sample consisted of young, highly educated, largely sedentary individuals, which limits how widely the results apply. Intelligence was not accounted for, and preliminary analyses hinted potential differences between women and men, a question that the uneven gender balance could not robustly test.
The study, titled Creativity: a (white) matter of connectivity, was authored by Julius Voss, Karl Koschutnig, Patrick Klepits, Corinna M. Perchtold-Stefan, Christian Rominger and Andreas Fink.
