Can a brain scan reveal if you'll be the next Steve Jobs? Unique pattern of neural wiring in people who are creative geniuses is found for the first time

Experts have found a pattern of neural activity that marks out creative thinkers
Three brain regions were found to be better-connected in imaginative people
Experts could one day target these key areas using a 'creativity pill'

A simple brain scan can now determine whether or not you have a creative mind.

Scientists have found a pattern of neural activity that marks out people who are good at generating original ideas, such as Steve Jobs and Elon Musk.

Experts could one day target the brain regions responsible using a 'creativity pill' to make people more imaginative, according to one researcher.

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A simple brain scan can now determine whether or not you have a creative mind. Scientists have found a pattern of neural activity that marks out people who are good at generating original ideas, such as skilled artists and musicians (stock image)

WHAT THEY FOUND

The study found distinct brain patterns in both the most and least creative thinkers they studied.

In highly original thinkers, activity between three brain regions was particularly strong.

These included the default mode network, which is linked to spontaneous thinking, and the executive control network, which lights up when we focus our thoughts.

Dr Beaty told MailOnline: 'Interestingly, these brain regions do not usually work together. This suggests that the creative brain might be "wired" differently.'

The third, known as the salience network, helps us to prioritise what best deserves our attention in a given moment.

'Our findings suggest that creativity involves an optimal balance between spontaneous and controlled aspects of thinking,' Dr Beaty said.

'Spontaneous brainstorming is important, and it may lead to creative insights on its own.

'But many initial ideas are not the best, so we often need to evaluate and modify them to ensure they fit the creative goal at hand.'The international team of scientists, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found three areas of the brain linked to creative thought.

They discovered that innovative thinkers had stronger connections between these three regions than those who were less imaginative.

Lead researcher Dr Roger Beaty, a psychologist at Harvard, told MailOnline: 'Creativity is often defined as the ability to come up with new and useful ideas.

'Previous studies largely measured activation of specific brain regions - which brain areas "light up" when people think creatively.

'In this study, we were interested in understanding how these different regions communicate with one another during creative thought.'

Dr Beaty teamed up with colleagues in China and Austria to take brain scans of 163 people - including musicians, artists and scientists - while they performed creative tasks.

While laying in an MRI machine, participants were given 12 seconds to come up with an original use for an object that flashed up on screen, such as a knife or sock.

'Just thinking about new and unusual ways to use these [objects] has been shown to be a valid way of [measuring] creative thinking,' Dr Beaty told Live Science.

For example, while an unimaginative participant might see a sock and give 'covering feet' as a potential use, a creative one may answer 'a water filtration system'.

Three independent scorers rated each answer, and these marks were then compared to the MRI scans. The study found distinct brain patterns in both the most and least creative thinkers they studied.

Late Apple founder Steve Jobs was described as a 'visionary and creative genius' for his work in revolutionising consumer technology

The scientists found three areas of the brain linked to creative thought. In future, scientists could target these regions to promote original thinking using drugs or magnetic brain stimulation (stock image)

A CREATIVITY PILL?

Researchers found that activity between three brain regions is particularly strong in creative thinkers.

In future, scientists could target these areas to promote original thought using drugs or magnetic brain stimulation.

Dr Beaty told MailOnline: 'Traditional training in different domains like creative writing may function in part to enhance connectivity within this network.

'Other cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation methods might also be useful for facilitating creative thought.

'But I think we're a long way off from a creativity pill.'In highly original thinkers, activity between three brain regions was particularly strong.

These included the default mode network, which is linked to spontaneous thinking, and the executive control network, which lights up when we focus our thoughts.

Dr Beaty told MailOnline: 'Interestingly, these brain regions do not usually work together. This suggests that the creative brain might be "wired" differently.'

The third, known as the salience network, helps us to prioritise what best deserves our attention in a given moment.

'Our findings suggest that creativity involves an optimal balance between spontaneous and controlled aspects of thinking,' Dr Beaty said.

'Spontaneous brainstorming is important, and it may lead to creative insights on its own. But many initial ideas are not the best, so we often need to evaluate and modify them to ensure they fit the creative goal at hand.'

In future, scientists could target these areas of the brain to promote original thought using drugs or magnetic brain stimulation.

Dr Beaty told MailOnline: 'Traditional training in different domains like creative writing may function in part to enhance connectivity within this network.

'Other cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation methods might also be useful for facilitating creative thought. But I think we're a long way off from a creativity pill.'