In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with Professor Masud Husain, neurologist, neuroscientist, essayist, and author of Our Brains, Ourselves: What a Neurologist's Patients Tell Him About the Brain. A leading researcher at the University of Oxford, Husain explores how the brain constructs our sense of self—and what happens when that system breaks down.

Through remarkable patient stories—from a man who loses his motivation after a stroke to a woman whose hand acts with a mind of its own—Husain shows how identity, motivation, and consciousness emerge from the fragile architecture of the brain. Together, they discuss the neuroscience of apathy and addiction, the role of dopamine in behavior, the intersection of AI and neurobiology, and what it truly means to be human.

If you've ever wondered how much of "you" is shaped by your brain—and how much you can change—this conversation offers profound insights into the science of the self.

• The brain builds identity — Selfhood arises from multiple interacting functions: memory, motivation, attention, and perception.
  
  

• Apathy and addiction share the same circuitry — Dopamine links motivational cues to action; too little or too much disrupts balance.
  
  

• Motivation can be restored — Dopaminergic treatments show promise for patients whose "will to act" has vanished after brain injury.
  
  

• Attention is selective and limited — The brain filters vast sensory input, sustaining focus through the right hemisphere's networks.
  
  

• We remain flexible — Even in adulthood, the brain's plasticity allows for self-directed change in habits, motivation, and mindset.
  
  

"Our brains create our identities—ourselves. And when a part of that function fails, so does a piece of who we are." – Prof. Masud Husain

"Motivation is not just psychological—it's biological. It lives in deep circuits that connect desire to action." – Prof. Masud Husain

"Apathy and addiction are two sides of the same coin—they both involve the brain's motivation system gone wrong." – Prof. Masud Husain

"We can still learn and reshape who we are. Even in adulthood, the brain remains astonishingly flexible." – Prof. Masud Husain

• 00:00 – Introduction to Professor Masud Husain and Our Brains, Ourselves
  
  

• 01:24 – How neurological patients reveal the building blocks of identity
  
  

• 03:18 – Why the self is a neuro function, not a philosophical abstraction
  
  

• 05:24 – The brain as a "controlled hallucination" machine
  
  

• 06:57 – Case study: David, apathy, and the basal ganglia
  
  

• 09:54 – Dopamine, motivation, and recovery through treatment
  
  

• 14:35 – Oxford study on apathy and brain activation differences
  
  

• 16:23 – Apathy vs. addiction: the same motivation circuitry at work
  
  

• 19:02 – Dopamine as the "wanting" transmitter, not the pleasure chemical
  
  

• 21:52 – Attention, distraction, and why focus is so difficult to sustain
  
  

• 24:50 – How Marvin Minsky's "society of mind" shaped modern neuroscience
  
  

• 27:55 – The illusion of self: from Descartes to Buddhist philosophy
  
  

• 30:12 – Case study: Anna's "alien hand" and body representation in the brain
  
  

• 33:38 – Phantom limbs, body maps, and how tools become part of us
  
  

• 36:01 – When machines become extensions of the self
  
  

• 37:41 – How adults can retrain motivation and change behavior
  
  

• 39:26 – Why the brain's plasticity offers lifelong potential for growth
  
  

• 40:05 – Book recommendation: Principles of Neuroscience by Eric Kandel
  
  

• 40:46 – Where to learn more: masudhusain.org
  
  

• Book: Our Brains, Ourselves
  
  

• Website: masudhusain.org
  
  

• Recommended Read: Principles of Neuroscience by Eric Kandel and James Schwartz

In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor interviews Dr. Anna Abraham, neuroscientist, educator, and author of The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths. As the E. Paul Torrance Professor at the University of Georgia and director of the Creativity and Imagination Lab, Dr. Abraham has spent decades exploring the science behind creativity and imagination.

Together, they dive deep into some of the most persistent myths about creativity—from the supposed link between creativity and mental illness to the popular idea that creativity is only a "right brain" activity. Along the way, Dr. Abraham explains how creativity actually works in the brain, what makes myths so sticky, and why everyday creativity is just as important as exceptional genius.

If you've ever doubted your creative potential because of stereotypes or wanted to understand what science really says about imagination, this conversation will change how you think about creativity forever.

• Creativity & mental illness — There are links, but they are complex, nuanced, and shaped by vulnerability and environment, not destiny.
  
  

• Right brain vs. left brain — Both hemispheres play a role; the metaphor is useful, but the science is more complicated.
  
  

• Everyday creativity matters — Creativity isn't just about lone geniuses; it's about building your own creative "fitness."
  
  

• Precarity fuels vulnerability — From writers working alone to creative industries hit hardest by crises, uncertainty impacts mental health.
  
  

• Creativity is a skill — Like fitness, it can be measured, trained, and improved with the right practices and tools.
  
  

"Every myth has a kernel of truth—it's the way the story gets told that flattens it into something misleading." – Dr. Anna Abraham

"Creativity is less like magic and more like fitness—it improves with practice." – Dr. Anna Abraham

"We like outlandish explanations for creativity more than the truth, because they make a better story." – Dr. Anna Abraham

"The unglamorous part of creativity is the real truth: it's a craft, and you have to keep working at it." – Dr. Anna Abraham

• 00:00 – Introduction to Dr. Anna Abraham and The Creative Brain
  
  

• 01:17 – Myth #1: Creativity and mental illness
  
  

• 06:32 – Why myths about creativity persist in culture
  
  

• 11:46 – Myth #2: The right brain is the seat of creativity
  
  

• 16:35 – The metaphorical power (and limits) of right vs. left brain
  
  

• 18:17 – Creativity and dementia: de novo creativity explained
  
  

• 21:56 – Improvisation, jazz, comedy, and breaking the path of least resistance
  
  

• 25:57 – Training yourself to disrupt automatic thinking patterns
  
  

• 29:02 – Defining creativity for business audiences: creativity vs. innovation
  
  

• 30:12 – The Torrance Test and measuring creativity in children and adults
  
  

• 34:55 – Myth of the lone creative genius: why context matters
  
  

• 39:42 – The most pervasive myths about creativity today
  
  

• 42:50 – Practice makes the performance look "natural"
  
  

• 44:25 – Book recommendations: Rick Rubin's The Creative Act and Bill Bryson's The Body
  
  

• 47:51 – Where to learn more about Dr. Abraham's work
  
  

• Book: The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths
  
  

• Website: anna-abraham.com
  
  

• Recommended Reads:
  
  

• • The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
    
    

  • The Body by Bill Bryson