Title |
Food for creativity: tyrosine promotes deep thinking
|
---|---|
Published in |
Psychological Research, September 2014
|
DOI | 10.1007/s00426-014-0610-4 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Lorenza S. Colzato, Annelies M. de Haan, Bernhard Hommel |
Abstract |
Anecdotal evidence suggests that creative people sometimes use food to overcome mental blocks and lack of inspiration, but empirical support for this possibility is still lacking. In this study, we investigated whether creativity in convergent- and divergent-thinking tasks is promoted by the food supplement L-Tyrosine (TYR)-a biochemical precursor of dopamine, which is assumed to drive cognitive control and creativity. We found no evidence for an impact of TYR on divergent thinking ("brainstorming") but it did promote convergent ("deep") thinking. As convergent thinking arguably requires more cognitive top-down control, this finding suggests that TYR can facilitate control-hungry creative operations. Hence, the food we eat may affect the way we think. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 31% |
Japan | 1 | 6% |
Sudan | 1 | 6% |
United Arab Emirates | 1 | 6% |
Unknown | 8 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 10 | 63% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 4 | 25% |
Scientists | 1 | 6% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 6% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Italy | 2 | 2% |
Sweden | 1 | <1% |
Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 129 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 25 | 19% |
Student > Bachelor | 23 | 17% |
Student > Master | 20 | 15% |
Researcher | 14 | 11% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 7 | 5% |
Other | 17 | 13% |
Unknown | 27 | 20% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 47 | 35% |
Neuroscience | 13 | 10% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 7 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 6 | 5% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 4 | 3% |
Other | 23 | 17% |
Unknown | 33 | 25% |