The Creative, Sensitive Brain

High Sensitivity Neuroscience

There has been a popular video floating around on social media the last while where Gabor Maté shares his thoughts on the relationship between sensitivity and creativity. As an art therapist who identifies as a highly sensitive person, my interest was sparked and I have dedicated the last year of my art therapy specialization to understanding this intersection better. Below are some excerpts from my final paper for my Advanced Diploma in Art Therapy. I have the references cited below if you’d like to nerd out with me about neuroscience or dive a little deeper on your own. In an effort to stay true to the research, some of this gets a little technical, so take your time and if you get a little lost, you can come back to the statements in bold.

Interestingly, Abraham Maslow, one of the founders of humanistic psychology, was already writing about creativity in 1958 in ways that show some distinct alignments with modern-day conceptions of high sensitivity, particularly emotional intensity. He described creativity as a “kind of permission to be ourselves” (p. 51) and a form of self-actualization that occurs through “great bursts of emotion and enthusiasm” (p.57). In art therapy, I’ve seen this over and over. Often, our creative channels have a way of allowing us to connect with how we are really feeling and can lead us to some insight or resolution. While it’s nice to see these early inklings in the field of psychology, I was pleased to learn that explorations are underway about the neuroscience of sensitivity and creativity - the early insights are intriguing!

There is growing evidence in the world of neuroscience to support high sensitivity as a trait (HSP), also known as sensory processing sensitivity (or SPS) in the academic research. The first evidence for neural differences associated with SPS was published in 2011. “SPS was associated with significantly greater brain activation in brain areas involved in higher order visual processing…when detecting minor (vs. major) changes in stimuli” (Jagiellowicz, Xu, Aron, Aron, Cao, Feng & Weng, p.38). Though limited by its sample of convenience and exploratory nature, the authors made the case for additional research.

By 2014, an fMRI study was underway with the aim of extending research on SPS brain activations while processing both emotional and social stimulation. “SPS is becoming increasingly associated with identifiable genes, behaviour, physiological reactions, and patterns of brain activation (Acevedo, Aron, Aron, Sangster, Collins & Brown, p.1). Their brain-imaging study of sensory processing sensitivity and others’ emotions found that “greater HSP scores were associated with stronger activations of brain regions involved in awareness, integration of sensory information, empathy, and preparation for action in response to emotionally evocative social stimuli” (p. 10). The authors even get specific about location in the brain, noting activation in the middle temporal gyrus, “a region that is important for emotional meaning making...described as a semantic hub for language, visual and auditory processing” (p. 11). SPS was also associated with “stronger activation of the angular gyrus...implicated in self- representation, understanding of metaphors, cognition (particularly internal dialogue), and abstract representations of the self” (p. 12). It’s okay if you don’t remember these different regions of the brain, however allow me to emphasize that emotional meaning-making, visual processing, self-representation, and understanding of metaphors, are each highly valued capacities for art therapy. Their study concludes, “notable results for SPS were found in regions implicated in self-other processing, the mirror neuron system, self-awareness and higher order cognitive processing...and highlight how the highly sensitive brain may mediate greater attunement to others and responsiveness to others’ needs” (p. 13). Those moments of picking up on interpersonal undercurrents may indeed be “in your head”, but not in the way we usually mean it.

A 2018 review of 27 fMRI articles compared patterns of neural region activation and deactivation implicated in SPS with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to distinguish some areas of overlap (Acevedo, Aron, Pospos & Jessen). The authors summarized that “SPS is distinct…SPS differentially engages brain regions involved in reward processing, memory, physiological homeostasis, self-other processing, empathy and awareness” (p. 1). Again, we have a reminder that high sensitivity is neither a disorder, nor something to overcome. This can be challenging news when we’d like some reprieve from our emotions, or a relief if we’ve suspected that we move through the world a little differently. It also has implications for therapy. In her book Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World, Danish author Ilse Sand writes “The primary aim in psychotherapy for highly sensitive people is often to promote and support self-love” (2016, p.121).

In 2022, a study conducted by David, Brown, Heemskerk, Aron, Leemans, and Aron, using diffusion tensor imaging, which is an advanced MRI, to identify possible microstructural characteristics for SPS, showed results consistent with the previous fMRI studies. Basically, we are talking about brain architecture. They note the following:

...[T]hese fMRI studies show that SPS is associated with greater activation in
multiple brain areas when processing subtle visual differences in neural stimuli as well as stimuli evoking emotion or empathy and personally relevant social stimuli... people with the SPS trait may be influenced by the anatomical microstructure of white matter in specific neocortical regions... the trait is not characterized by better initial sensory perception, better hearing or eyesight, but by more complete processing of what is perceived along these two visual/auditory pathways. (pp. 2769- 2781)

Interesting right?!

Though there are many definitions of creativity, we only start to see an exploration of the neuroscience of sensitivity and creativity in the last five years or so. Creativity is not clearly defined in the HSP literature, however, it is referenced anecdotally quite consistently, particularly in the books that focus on applying an understanding of the HSP trait to our daily life. Elaine Aron, who first proposed the term highly sensitive person, notes that “being gifted, artistic, or passionate about the arts” (2010, p. 7) is often a distinguishing characteristic of HSP. Likewise, connecting with artistic pursuits is frequently mentioned as a way for us sensitive folks to regulate our emotions.

An article from 2019 titled Sensitive Individuals Are More Creative reviews sensitive temperament research related to the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine in regions associated with the Default Mode Network (Bridges & Schendan). You can think of the default mode network as your background operating system, or natural auto-pilot: it becomes more active while doing passive tasks. They write, “The DMN supports global functional integration, thinking and memory processing...and is the largest scale cortical network most strongly associated with creativity” (p. 192). If you’ve ever gotten into a creative flow state, this probably doesn’t come as a surprise. As the title of their article suggests, there is beginning evidence for the relationship between sensitivity and creativity and many more paths in the field of neuroscience to explore.


Acevedo, B., Aron, E., Aron, A. Sangster, M., Collins, N. and Brown, L. (2014). The highly sensitive brain: an fMRI study of sensory processing sensitivity and response to others’ emotions. Brain and Behaviour 4, 4 580-594.  
Acevedo, B., Aron, E. Pospos, S, and Jessen, D. (2018). The functional highly sensitive brain: a review of the brain circuits underlying sensory processing sensitivity and seemingly related disorders. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society Publishing, 373. 
Aron, E. (2010). Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person. New York: Routledge. 
Bridges, D. & Schendan, H. (2019). Sensitive individuals are more creative. Personality and Individual Differences, 142, 186-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.015 
David, S., Brown, L., Heemskerk, A., Aron, E., Leemans, A. & Aron, A. (2022). Sensory processing sensitivity and axonal microarchitecture: identifying brain structural characteristics for behavior. Brain Structure and Function, 227, 2769–2785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-022-02571-1 
Jagiellowicz, J., Xu, X., Aron, A., Aron, E., Cao, G., Feng, T., & Weng, X. (2011). The trait of sensory processing sensitivity and neural responses to changes in visual scenes. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 6(1), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsq001 
Maslow, A. (1958). Emotional blocks to creativity. Journal of Individual Psychology, 14, 51-56. 
Sand, I. (2016). Highly Sensitive People In An Insensitive World. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Previous
Previous

Homebody. Home studio.

Next
Next

Intersections & Blind Spots