Being creative means having the ability to produce ideas, actions or works that are original and different from what we have already done. This process involves mental flexibility, in particular the association of distant ideas or divergent thinking. This creative potential is complex and depends on a number of factors, both internal (personality, motivation, emotional state, stress) and external to the individual (socio-cultural context). The generation of creative ideas involves the fronto-striatal circuit, with a balance between flexibility and perseverance. The striatum is central to the reward system and mental flexibility, while the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive control, underpinning perseverance functions. Dopamine plays a key role in this balance, and changes in dopamine levels, depending on the type of receptor activated, will have a direct impact on the transition between mental flexibility and perseverance. Furthermore, in the context of chronic pain, changes in connectivity and activity can be observed in neuroimaging in these same regions of the reward circuit. This suggests that the dopaminergic system is also involved in the chronicisation of pain. The creative process would therefore be correlated with the dopaminergic reward system, involving several dimensions, both cognitive in terms of mental flexibility, coping strategies and perseverance, and motivational. In this context, art therapy treatments are beginning to be studied, particularly in patients suffering from Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, showing improvements in anxiety and depression.
Art therapy has not yet been widely proposed or studied for patients suffering from chronic pain. A more detailed behavioural study would confirm and clarify the clinical benefits for patients, by exploring the neuronal circuits involved, particularly the dopaminergic reward system.