Aha!
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. All of a sudden, bang! -- inspiration. The light bulb goes on. Researcher Mark Jung-Beeman of Northwestern University calls it the "Aha!" moment. But where does it come from? Jung-Beeman used brain scans to watch it happen, while people did word puzzles. His work in the journal Psychological Science was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Jung-Beeman says while inspiration may be sudden, earlier events set the stage: "Prior to solving a problem with insight, people are already engaging brain areas that will allow them to pursue the dominant interpretation or solution strategy, yet also be able to monitor for competing candidates or strategies." (11 seconds) Want to improve your inspiration? Jung-Beeman has some inspirational advice: Give yourself a quick break, relax and think positive, and try to be open to new ideas. Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: August, 15 2006 | 
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