The Brain Blown Podcast

Curiosity might be one of the most powerful things a healthy brain can do — and yet most of us were quietly taught to stop doing it.

In this episode, we're exploring the neuroscience of curiosity: why it's one of the newest and most openly uncertain frontiers in brain research, what happens in your reward, memory, and executive control systems when you follow a thread of wonder, and why your brain's own motivational kill switch may depend on it more than we ever realized. We're also looking at what our school systems, our workplaces, and our culture have done to curiosity along the way — and what it might mean that we're only just beginning to understand how much we need it.

>> ⁠⁠⁠Support the Brain Blown on Patreon
⁠⁠⁠>> Have questions, stories, or topics you want us to cover? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠info@brainblownpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠.
>> Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠www.brainblownpodcast.com⁠

RESOURCES
Systems Neuroscience of Curiosity — Roberto Lopez Cervera, Maya Zhe Wang & Benjamin Y. Hayden
On Curiosity: A Fundamental Aspect of Personality, a Practice of Network Growth — Perry Zurn & Danielle S. Basset
Interest Development and Its Relation to Curiosity: Needed Neuroscientific Research — Suzanne E. Hidi & K. Ann Renninger
Exploring Curiosity in Neuroscience: A Contextual Analysis of Key Studies from 2020 to 2024 — Dragoș Grigorescu
A Shared Novelty-Seeking Basis for Creativity and Curiosity — Tal Ivancovsky, Shira Barorc & Moshe Bara
Curiosity as the Impulse to Know: Common Behavioral and Neural Mechanisms Underlying Curiosity and Impulsivity — Caroline B. Marvin, Ellen Tedeschi & Daphna Shohamy
The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity — Celeste Kidd & Benjamin Y. Hayden
Curiosity-Driven Exploration: Foundations in Neuroscience and Computational Modeling — Alireza Modirshanechi, Kacper Kondrakiewicz, Wulfram Gerstner & Sebastian Haesler
Curiosity in Childhood and Adolescence — What Can We Learn from the Brain — Matthias J. Gruber & Yana Fandakova

Shoutout to @ollieschminkey for the inspiration for this month's wellness activity. Find Ollie on most social media platforms for more Writing Prompt Wednesday ideas. Enjoy!
We've spent our whole lives being told that a wandering mind is a problem... but what if it's actually one of the most powerful things your brain can do?
In this episode, we're diving into the neuroscience of creativity: what it actually is, why your best ideas almost never happen when you're trying hardest to force them, and what occurs in your brain during a genuine creative breakthrough. From the default mode network and alpha waves to dopamine, divergent thinking, and why the "right brain" myth has been officially debunked — we're making the case that creativity isn't a gift reserved for artists and inventors. It's something your brain is designed to produce, and something we may have been accidentally shutting down all along.>> ⁠⁠⁠Support the Brain Blown on Patreon⁠⁠⁠>> Have questions, stories, or topics you want us to cover? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠info@brainblownpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠.>> Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠www.brainblownpodcast.com⁠
RESOURCES
What Happens in a Creative Brain? — AJ Keller, CEO at Neurosity
Defining Creativity: Beyond the Cliché — Science News Today
The Neuroscience of Creativity — Andreas Fink & Mathias Benedek
Toward a Neurocognitive Framework of Creative Cognition: The Role of Memory, Attention, and Cognitive Control — Mathias Benedek & Andreas Fink
The Link Between Creativity, Cognition and Creative Drives and Underlying Neural Mechanisms — Khalil, Goode & Karim
Creativity and the Brain: An Editorial Introduction to the Special Issue on the Neuroscience of Creativity — Saggar, Volle, Uddin, Chrysikou & Green
Network Neuroscience of Creative Cognition: Mapping Cognitive Mechanisms and Individual Differences in the Creative Brain — Beaty, Seli & Schacter
Neural, Genetic, and Cognitive Signatures of Creativity — Liu, Zhuang, Zeitlen, Chen, Wang, Feng, Beaty & Qiu

We've spent our whole lives being told that a wandering mind is a problem... but what if it's actually one of the most powerful things your brain can do?
In this episode, we're diving into the neuroscience of creativity: what it actually is, why your best ideas almost never happen when you're trying hardest to force them, and what occurs in your brain during a genuine creative breakthrough. From the default mode network and alpha waves to dopamine, divergent thinking, and why the "right brain" myth has been officially debunked — we're making the case that creativity isn't a gift reserved for artists and inventors. It's something your brain is designed to produce, and something we may have been accidentally shutting down all along.>> ⁠⁠⁠Support the Brain Blown on Patreon⁠⁠⁠>> Have questions, stories, or topics you want us to cover? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠info@brainblownpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠.>> Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠www.brainblownpodcast.com⁠
RESOURCES
What Happens in a Creative Brain? — AJ Keller, CEO at Neurosity
Defining Creativity: Beyond the Cliché — Science News Today
The Neuroscience of Creativity — Andreas Fink & Mathias Benedek
Toward a Neurocognitive Framework of Creative Cognition: The Role of Memory, Attention, and Cognitive Control — Mathias Benedek & Andreas Fink
The Link Between Creativity, Cognition and Creative Drives and Underlying Neural Mechanisms — Khalil, Goode & Karim
Creativity and the Brain: An Editorial Introduction to the Special Issue on the Neuroscience of Creativity — Saggar, Volle, Uddin, Chrysikou & Green
Network Neuroscience of Creative Cognition: Mapping Cognitive Mechanisms and Individual Differences in the Creative Brain — Beaty, Seli & Schacter
Neural, Genetic, and Cognitive Signatures of Creativity — Liu, Zhuang, Zeitlen, Chen, Wang, Feng, Beaty & Qiu

Enjoy this DND exercise led by Laine — let's play together!

Most of us stopped playing long before we realized it — and it turns out, that might be costing us more than we know. In this episode, we're diving into the neuroscience of play: what it actually is (hint: it's not about the activity), why it's as fundamental to our biology as sleep and food, and what happens to our brains — and our lives — when we don't get enough of it. From dopamine and neuroplasticity to why boredom might actually be good for your kids, we're making the case that play isn't just for children. It's one of the most powerful tools we have for resilience, joy, and mental wellness — at any age.
>> ⁠⁠⁠Support the Brain Blown on Patreon⁠⁠⁠
>> Have questions, stories, or topics you want us to cover? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠info@brainblownpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠.
>> Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠www.brainblownpodcast.com⁠

Resources:
The Importance of Pleasure in Play — Bruce Perry
Selected Principles of Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience — Kenneth L. Davis & Christian Montag
Yes, We Need a Neuroscience of Play — Phillip Stevens Jr.
Neuroscience and the Magic of Play Therapy — Anne L. Stewart, Thomas A. Field & Lennis G. Echterling
Neuroscience, Early Childhood Education and Play: We Are Doing It Right! — Stephen Rushton
Neuroscience and Learning Through Play: A Review of the Evidence — Liu, Solis, Jensen, Hopkins, Neale, Zosh, Pasek & Whitebread
Adult Play: A Neuroscientific and Psychoanalytic Perspective — Ellen Park Psy.D.
In Search of the Neurobiological Substrates for Social Playfulness in Mammalian Brains — Stephen M. Siviy & Jaak Panksepp
The Playful Mediator, Moderator, or Outcome? — Shen & Masek
Risky Play in Children's Emotion Regulation, Social Functioning, and Physical Health — Sandseter, Kleppe & Kennair
National Institute for Play — Dr. Stuart Brown

Most of us stopped playing long before we realized it — and it turns out, that might be costing us more than we know. In this episode, we're diving into the neuroscience of play: what it actually is (hint: it's not about the activity), why it's as fundamental to our biology as sleep and food, and what happens to our brains — and our lives — when we don't get enough of it. From dopamine and neuroplasticity to why boredom might actually be good for your kids, we're making the case that play isn't just for children. It's one of the most powerful tools we have for resilience, joy, and mental wellness — at any age.
>> ⁠⁠Support the Brain Blown on Patreon⁠⁠
>> Have questions, stories, or topics you want us to cover? Email us at ⁠⁠info@brainblownpodcast.com⁠⁠.
>> Learn more at ⁠⁠www.brainblownpodcast.com

Resources:
The Importance of Pleasure in Play — Bruce Perry
Selected Principles of Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience — Kenneth L. Davis & Christian Montag
Yes, We Need a Neuroscience of Play — Phillip Stevens Jr.
Neuroscience and the Magic of Play Therapy — Anne L. Stewart, Thomas A. Field & Lennis G. Echterling
Neuroscience, Early Childhood Education and Play: We Are Doing It Right! — Stephen Rushton
Neuroscience and Learning Through Play: A Review of the Evidence — Liu, Solis, Jensen, Hopkins, Neale, Zosh, Pasek & Whitebread
Adult Play: A Neuroscientific and Psychoanalytic Perspective — Ellen Park Psy.D.
In Search of the Neurobiological Substrates for Social Playfulness in Mammalian Brains — Stephen M. Siviy & Jaak Panksepp
The Playful Mediator, Moderator, or Outcome? — Shen & Masek
Risky Play in Children's Emotion Regulation, Social Functioning, and Physical Health — Sandseter, Kleppe & Kennair
National Institute for Play — Dr. Stuart Brown