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Springer Verlag, Psychological Research, 5(79), p. 709-714

DOI: 10.1007/s00426-014-0610-4

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Food for creativity: tyrosine promotes deep thinking

Journal article published in 2014 by Lorenza S. Colzato, Annelies M. de Haan, Bernhard Hommel ORCID
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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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.