A study published in Nature Communications found a link between creativity and brain age: according to what was discovered, creative people would have a brain younger than their chronological age compared to those who are not. «We lacked biological evidence of the influence of creativity on the brain. With this study we wanted to fill this gap by using i brain clocks (literally brain clocks) to understand if creativity could slow down the aging of the brain”, explains Agustin Ibanez, one of the authors.
The participants. The researchers analyzed a sample of 1,472 adults from 13 different countries; brain scans of 1,240 people were used to train the models of machine learning used to estimate brain age.
The remaining 232 participants were divided into two groups based on their creative experiences: the first group included experts and amateurs in dance, music, visual arts and video games; in the second group there were people who had followed a 30-hour training to learn how to play StarCraft II, a real-time strategy video game.
Younger (and more efficient) brains. As estimated by machine learning models, experts in each artistic sector had a brain age much lower than their actual one: the greater the creative experience (measured in years of experience or training), the greater the rejuvenation cerebral. On average, the experts had a brain between five and seven years younger than its actual age. In the second group of people, the one who had learned to play the video game StarCraft II, the gap between real age and estimated age was minimal.
In addition to being younger, the brains of creative people are also more efficient: in particular in the category of experts, communication between the different brain areas was in fact more coordinated.
Just a correlation. It is important to underline that the study in no way highlights a cause and effect link between creativity and slowing down brain aging, but rather a correlation. In fact, other factors not considered in the research could influence determining age and brain health, such as the level of education of the participants, lifestyle, socioeconomic status or the fact that young people are more inclined to engage in creative activities. Future studies that also include other creative fields such as writing, acting or craftsmanship will be able to confirm and expand the results.
