jlk – You may have heard that creative individuals tend to struggle with focusing their attention on one thing.
They are often distracted by various sensory stimuli, such as sound, light, color, or smell.
They also get easily bored and are always seeking new, challenging, and exciting things. Are you one of them?
If yes, then you might have what is called “weak sensory gating” or a low ability to filter out irrelevant sensory information.
This means that you are more sensitive to everything around you, and it’s harder for you to ignore unimportant things.
This can be a source of stress and disturbance, especially if you have to work in a busy or noisy environment.
However, don’t rush to feel inferior or frustrated. Weak sensory gating actually has a positive side, namely its association with high creativity. Yes, you read that right.
According to research conducted by scientists from Northwestern University, people with weak sensory gating tend to be more creative than those with strong sensory gating.
How can this be? Doesn’t weak sensory gating make it difficult for us to concentrate and easily get distracted? How can we generate creative ideas if our minds are always filled with unimportant things?
Well, this is the interesting part of this research. It turns out, weak sensory gating doesn’t always mean bad for creativity. On the contrary, weak sensory gating can help us integrate ideas that are outside our focus of attention, which can be a source of inspiration and innovation.
Sensory Gating: What Is It and How Does It Work?
Before we delve further into the relationship between sensory gating and creativity, let’s first understand what sensory gating is and how it works.
Sensory gating is the process that occurs in our brains to regulate the flow of sensory information into our consciousness.
Sensory gating functions to select relevant and important sensory information and ignore irrelevant and unimportant sensory information.
Sensory gating occurs rapidly and automatically, without us being aware of it. One way to measure sensory gating is by using P50 ERP, which is a neurophysiological response that occurs 50 milliseconds after the stimulus is presented.
P50 ERP is an electrical wave that occurs in the sensory cortex of our brains, indicating how strongly our brains respond to stimuli. If P50 ERP is low, it means our brains don’t respond strongly to stimuli, indicating strong sensory gating.
Conversely, if P50 ERP is high, it means our brains respond strongly to stimuli, indicating weak sensory gating.
Strong sensory gating means that our brains are able to filter out irrelevant sensory information well, so we can focus on important things.
Strong sensory gating is usually associated with good cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving.
Strong sensory gating can also protect us from mental disturbances, such as schizophrenia, which is characterized by very weak sensory gating.
Weak sensory gating means that our brains are less able to filter out irrelevant sensory information, so we are more sensitive to everything around us.
Weak sensory gating can cause us to be easily distracted, have difficulty concentrating, and feel stressed. Weak sensory gating can also disrupt our cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving.
However, weak sensory gating also has advantages, namely its association with high creativity.
Sensory Gating and Creativity: What’s the Connection?
Creativity is the ability to generate new, original, and useful ideas, which can be products, processes, or solutions.
Creativity involves complex cognitive processes, such as lateral thinking, free association, imagination, and flexibility. Creativity is also influenced by other factors, such as motivation, emotion, personality, and environment.
One factor that influences creativity is sensory gating. As explained earlier, sensory gating is the process that occurs in our brains to regulate the flow of sensory information into our consciousness.
Sensory gating can affect our creativity, both positively and negatively, depending on the context and purpose.
Strong sensory gating can support our creativity, especially if we need to work on tasks that require focus, logic, and analysis. Strong sensory gating can help us avoid distractions, so we can think clearly and systematically.
Strong sensory gating can also help us remember relevant and important information, so we can use it to solve problems or create something new.
However, strong sensory gating can also hinder our creativity, especially if we need to work on tasks that require imagination, flexibility, and originality.
Strong sensory gating can make us less sensitive to new, interesting, or unusual things, which can be a source of inspiration and innovation.
Strong sensory gating can also make us too fixated on rules, norms, or existing standards, so we are less willing to experiment or try different things.
Weak sensory gating can hinder our creativity, especially if we need to work on tasks that require focus, logic, and analysis. Weak sensory gating can make us easily distracted, have difficulty concentrating, and feel stressed.
Weak sensory gating can also disrupt our cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving.
Weak sensory gating can also make us too influenced by emotions, impulses, or fantasies, so we are less rational or realistic.
However, weak sensory gating can also support our creativity, especially if we need to work on tasks that require imagination, flexibility, and originality.
Weak sensory gating can make us more sensitive to new, interesting, or unusual things, which can be a source of inspiration and innovation.
Weak sensory gating can also make us more open, flexible, and original, so we are more willing to experiment or try different things.