When we suddenly find the solution to a problem – as if by a flash of inspiration – it is a very special feeling. What happens in the brain during an “aha moment” and why does it make you happy? Neuroscientists have already gained insight into this question. According to this, not only brain areas fire for memory, language processing and attention during a “flash of inspiration” – the “happiness hormone” dopamine and a central part of the reward system are also involved.
Each of us has probably already experienced an “aha moment”: You ponder a task or a problem and then suddenly, out of nowhere, you find the solution. “This sudden flash of inspiration is a common psychological phenomenon,” says Martin Tik from the Medical University of Vienna. “It is characterized by a new, original combination of old knowledge and is an important part of creative problem-solving. Let’s just take the example of Archimedes, who jumps out of his bathroom and shouts ‘Eureka’. ”But what happens in the brain during this“ aha moment ”has long been unknown.
Word puzzle in the brain scanner
In order to find out more about the processes involved in the “aha moment”, Tik and his colleagues examined this in 24 test subjects using a state-of-the-art brain scanner. “By using the most modern functional magnetic resonance imaging, we are able to look deep into the brain and investigate in detail which areas are active in problem solving,” explains Christian Windischberger from the Medical University of Vienna. For their study, he and his colleagues asked participants to solve challenging word puzzles while the scanner recorded their brain activity. For example, the task was to find a word that could be meaningfully associated with three given words. For example, “house”, “bark” and “apple” were given – the answer word that could be combined with all three was “tree”. As soon as the test subjects had found the solution, the test subjects also stated the intensity of their “aha experience”.
The evaluation of the brain activity showed that the language center and other areas responsible for processing language and grammar became particularly active when solving the tasks – as was to be expected given the language-heavy tasks. Parts of the frontal lobe that are responsible for assessing one’s own performance and problem-solving strategies also reacted. But the scientists discovered the decisive signals when they compared the differences between real brainstorming experiences and more routine-knowledgeable answers: “Our research results showed activation of areas of attention, language processing and memory, as well as a sudden, significantly increased activation of the nucleus accumbens, if solving the riddle was accompanied by an ‘aha experience’ and thus a moment of intense joy and relief, ”reports Windischberger.
Dopamine helps with the solution
The exciting thing about it: The nucleus accumbens is part of the reward system in our brain and is always activated when joy or reward is felt. At the same time, this area of the brain is closely related to the release of the “happiness hormone” dopamine – a hormone that plays an important role in strong emotions, attention and addictions. According to the researchers, the release of dopamine and the activation of the nucleus accumbens could on the one hand help solve the task and “stick with it” on the problem, but on the other hand explain the sometimes downright ecstatic joy that comes with solving a creative problem.
“Our results indicate a close relationship between dopamine, excitement and creativity,” say the researchers. Accordingly, dopamine does not only serve as a messenger substance in the course of reward reactions to sex, food or money. Rather, the neurotransmitter also plays a role in the goal-oriented, motivated approach to challenging problems – and in the joy we feel after solving these tasks. The knowledge about the neural processes during the “aha moment” also explains why a solution that comes with a flash of inspiration is more memorable: The involvement of the various brain areas ensures that storage in long-term memory is facilitated and strengthened. Thus, an “aha moment” is more than just a simple feeling of joy or relief, it is instead a special form of quick retrieval, combining and a final coding process, as the researchers explain.
Source: Martin Tik (Medical University of Vienna) et al., Human Brain Mapping, doi: 10.1002 / hbm.24073