The effect on the brain of creative activity is a fascinating area of scientific study. Research shows that when we write, several areas of the brain become engaged - notably those responsible for idea generation, idea evaluation, memory, imagination and planning. Writing, it turns out, is an unusually demanding and complete process that helps us balance and switch between focus and openness, invention and assessment, freedom and control.

Other studies have shown that writing by hand has further benefits, including improved retention of information and enhanced communication across separate areas of the brain.

The following are some of the most notable studies in this area:

Beaty, R.E., Benedek, M., Silvia, P.J. and Schacter, D.L. (2016)
‘Creative cognition and brain network dynamics’, NeuroImage, 148, pp. 304–314.

Chen, Q., Beaty, R.E. and Qiu, J. (2020)
‘Mapping the artistic brain: Common and distinct neural activations associated with musical, drawing, and literary creativity’, Human Brain Mapping, 41(12), pp. 3403–3419.

Dietrich, A. and Kanso, R. (2010)
‘A review of EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies of creativity and insight’, Psychological Bulletin, 136(5), pp. 822–848.

Jung, R.E., Mead, B.S., Carrasco, J. and Flores, R.A. (2013)
‘The structure of creative cognition in the human brain’, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, p. 330.

Mueller, P.A. and Oppenheimer, D.M. (2014)
‘The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking’, Psychological Science, 25(6), pp. 1159–1168.

Pennebaker, J.W. and Chung, C.K. (2011)
‘Expressive writing: Connections to physical and mental health’, in Friedman, H.S. (ed.) The Oxford handbook of health psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 417–437.

Schacter, D.L. and Addis, D.R. (2007)
‘The cognitive neuroscience of constructive memory: Remembering the past and imagining the future’, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8(9), pp. 657–661.