These moments of sudden insight, often illustrated by a light bulb above the head, are not just a cartoon image. They cause a real stir in our brains.
So reports a study by researchers at Duke University in the US, and Humboldt and Hamburg Universities in Germany, published in the journal Nature Communications.
They discovered that when a solution comes to one suddenly, almost magically, it imprints itself more durably in the memory than if it had been found by dint of reasoning.
To demonstrate this, the scientists designed an experiment based on visual puzzles. Participants had to interpret black-and-white images with minimal detail until a familiar object emerged.
Once the solution had been identified, they noted their degree of certainty and the way in which they had found it: a sudden flash or more logical deduction. Meanwhile, their brain activity was scanned for signs of that cognitive spark.
A memory boost
The results are illuminating. Not only are flashes of insight better imprinted on the brain, they are also accompanied by striking physiological responses.
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans revealed intense activation of the hippocampus, a key region for memory and learning, as well as changes in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex, involved in visual pattern recognition.
According to Roberto Cabeza, professor at Duke University and senior author of the study, these flashes of sudden insight seemed to increase people’s ability to remember what they had learned.
“If you have an ‘aha! moment’ while learning something, it almost doubles your memory. There are few memory effects that are as powerful as this,” the researcher explains in a news release.
A strong claim, based on solid data: participants who had experienced this kind of epiphany remembered their answers much better, even five days later, than those who had proceeded in a more considered manner.
These breakthrough moments don’t just leave an imprint. “During these moments of insight, the brain reorganises how it sees the image,” says first author, Maxi Becker, a postdoctoral fellow at Humboldt University.
Indeed, the more powerful the flash, the more the brain’s neuronal networks are activated. And that’s not all.
These moments of clarity are accompanied by improved communication between the different areas of the brain. It’s as if, for a moment, internal connections become more fluid, more efficient.
These discoveries could open up promising avenues for rethinking teaching methods. Encouraging environments conducive to the emergence of new ideas could strengthen long-term memory and refine comprehension. This underscores the importance of active learning, in which students themselves construct knowledge.