Working Memory, Cerebellum, and Creativity

摘要

The research and developing theory on the collaboration of working memory and the cerebellum and its relation to creativity and innovation by Vandervert, Schimpf, and Liu (this issue) will contribute to creativity training strategies and to the further understanding of the possible origins of creative behavior. On the other hand, Vandervert et al. raise many questions. I believe their work should be viewed in the context of their pervious work, especially Vandervert (1997, 2003), and some other elements of creativity research (e.g., Cattell, 1963; Csikszentmihayi, 1996; Lehman, 1943; Schilling, 2005; Simonton, 1980; Wallas, 1926) and, more importantly, brain research (Gasser, Von Lucadou-Muller, Verlager, & Bach-er,1983; Gevins et. al., 1983; Harpaz, 1990; Rose, 1999; Runco, 1993; Torrance & Mourad, 1979). The challenge could possibly be extended to the explanation of subliminal priming, where one can assume that almost zero repetitive cognition occurs in the working memory. We cannot ignore that subliminal priming may affect idea generation. The above-mentioned concerns set the stage for views that are more comprehensive and holistic. I am aware that some answers need further research and may require highly specialized experiments to be conducted to obtain a realistic and convincing set of results that support the current promising and developing theory. I start by presenting general concerns that stem from the current theory as whole and then focus on the possible implications on creativity training. Also other issues concerning the main components of the suggested theory will be raised; cerebellum and the MOSAIC/HMQSAIC model, working memory, cortex and creativity research.