Creativity is a mystery essential to the human condition. When encountering difficult problems, the ability to creatively engineer a solution often outweighs any amount of brute effort put towards solving them. This is the old motto: work smarter, not harder. So called “smart drugs” may help with the effort part; however, psychedelics may occupy the niche of increasing creativity, allowing for the spontaneous generation of new ideas.
Nootropics are drugs that aim to make people smarter.1 They work by increasing cognitive processes associated with memory, creativity, motivation, and attention. In scientific literature, there are generally three effects studied: better memory, motivation, and attention.1-3 Many classes of nootropics interact with acetylcholine function for memory enhancement.2,4,5Stimulants generally aid in enhancing both attention and motivation.3,6
While psychedelics encompass many nootropic properties, research into psychedelics is currently being revisited for psychedelics’ capacity to increase creativity.7,8
Divergent thinking, or non-linear creativity, is by nature difficult to define and measure.7 A recent 2018 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to model the brain for creative ability.9 Across four independent datasets, researchers were able to predict creative ability in a robust manner. They found an association between high creative ability and dense connections primarily in the brain’s frontal and parietal cortices. These cortices contain high amounts of 5HT2 receptors, a specific subtype of serotonin receptor many psychedelics act upon.10
A recent systematic review suggested an association with all substance use and creative ability due to the “loosening” of cognitive processes.11 In addition, this review article provides a comprehensive look at numerous studies claiming an increased creative ability with psychedelic use. “Loosening” is relevant because there is a general principle observed in scientific studies that psychedelics, like psilocybin, alter consciousness by disorganizing brain activity.12
Due to “loosening” the current way your brain organizes itself, new connective states emerge as it attempts to reorganize itself (Figure 1).13
