Brain Mechanisms of Creative Problem Solving

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

4:00 PM-5:30 PM

BIOMED Seminar

Title:
Brain Mechanisms of Creative Problem Solving

Speaker:
John Kounios, PhD
Director, Doctoral Program in Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Professor of Psychology
Drexel University

Details:
People can solve problems in two general ways. They can consciously and deliberately test hypotheses about potential solutions by manipulating elements of the problem, or the cognitive processing can go on largely unconsciously and later emerge into consciousness as a sudden insight or “aha moment.”

This talk will explain the cognitive basis of insight problem solving, its underlying neural basis as revealed by the latest electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neuroimaging research, and practical implications for improving creative problem solving suggested by this research.

Biosketch:
John Kounios, PhD, is a professor of psychology and director of Drexel University’s doctoral program in Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences. He has published cognitive neuroscience research on insight, creativity, problem solving, memory, and Alzheimer’s disease. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Kounios' research on insight has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times (London), National Public Radio, and in a BBC Television documentary. His work was profiled in The New Yorker and The Saturday Evening Post and is part of an exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. He is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Psychonomic Society and is a Founding Member of the Lincoln Center Global Exchange.

Contact Information

Ken Barbee
215-895-1335
barbee@drexel.edu