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Marais on Jung, 'A Brain for Innovation: The Neuroscience of Imagination and Abstract Thinking' [Review]
Jung, Min W.. A Brain for Innovation: The Neuroscience of Imagination and Abstract Thinking. : Columbia University Press, 2024. vi + 226 pp. $34.99 (e-book), ISBN 9780231559850.
Reviewed by
Johanné Marais (University of the Witwatersrand)
Published on
H-Sci-Med-Tech (October, 2025)
Commissioned by
Penelope K. Hardy (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Printable Version: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=62046
Imagination is an integral component of human intellect. It arises somewhere between integrated sensory experiences, memories, and the generative capacity of the brain. In his book A Brain for Innovation: The Neuroscience of Imagination and Abstract Thinking, Min W. Jung details the neural processes that prompt imagination, expands on how these processes are manufactured into deep-learning protocols, and closes with recognition that innovation facilitated by human creativity may help navigate some of the global crises that humans are responsible for exacerbating.
Jung’s foundational neuroscientific lessons on imagination begin with the memory circuits of the hippocampus. This is a structure deep within the brain, nestled in the subcortical area. The replay of memories for purpose of consolidation (and learning) in human and nonhuman primates alike has been supported by research for several decades. Most memories are integrating external sensory signals during replay, as Jung describes with specific and comprehensive detail. In the shifting stages of sleep, these replays are strengthened by various types of brain signals, like sharp wave ripples, where specific neuronal subsets within and supplementary to the hippocampal neural networks of memory and learning are pulsing in concert. The introduction of these ideas is understandable to someone with relative fluency in neuroscience vocabulary; I can’t imagine having the necessary grasp without previous study of the field.
What’s in a daydream? Are daydreams a figment of our imaginations, or what we remember? Many components of the hippocampal network are double agents for memory and imagination, as Jung describes from his own research inquiries. In wakeful rest, networks of neurons are activated to exchange information throughout the global cerebral cortex, synchronously engaging with the hippocampal network. It is this welcomed lull of external sensory-processing demands that encourages internal mentation: reminiscing on memories and experiences; reflecting on a sense of self; pondering moral decisiveness; ideating one’s future; or even thinking about feelings. This is imagination.
Imagination did not instantaneously arise in humans. There has been gradual evolution of discernment in animal species; simulation-selection, to decide prospectively on a safe trajectory for navigating space while avoiding danger, is one valuable example offered in this book. Over time, this evolution of discernment develops into abstraction. Jung exemplifies this by saying, “It allows us to form and manipulate concepts … such as love, imaginary numbers, democracy, and free will” (p. 76). Fascinatingly, this too is not an intrinsically human feature! Other animals display abstract thinking too. An example Jung gives is that rats intuitively navigate a new space by combined firing of neuronal grid cells (which perceive generalized spatial domains innately) with object-responsive cells (specific to the experience) of the entorhinal cortex.
How did humans develop refined cognitive and imaginative specialization compared with other animals? It begins with the rapid expansion of the neocortex. With growth of this brain region, the complexity of layers and dimensions of connectedness of brain networks becomes possible. Neurons diversify. Association thrives. Acute and expansive abstraction and internal mentation refine imagination and creativity. Annunciation of sounds and early linguistic expressions lay foundations for the development of language. Symbolism, artistic expression, commemoration and ceremonial practice, role distribution and other social prescriptions map the way for human innovation. Jung guides the reader along the breadth of these ideas, highlighting shared intentionality theory, ritual/speech coevolution theory, and the mirror neuron hypothesis, to name a few.
The ability not only to associate A with B but to grasp and generate entire concepts like identity has served human innovation well. The development of the computer, for example, is a product of human innovation. We have extended this computational innovation most recently with artificial neural networks, which mimic brain functions on a much deeper level. Depth and efficiency of network capacity, as Jung explains, is finitely feasible for the human brain due to the processing power per unit space. That said, “the neural basis of human high-level abstract thinking is unclear,” and studies which test these neural mappings exist in an ethical grey zone (p. 116). There is still plenty understanding to be developed in this field of neuroscientific research.
In chapter 13, Jung deepens the reader’s perspectives on creativity: creativity as deliberate or spontaneous, creativity that diversifies proportionally to the quantity and quality of memories available to replay in our imaginations. He prompts the reader that creativity demands open-mindedness, persistence, a balance of stillness and motion, novelty, and contemplation. Jung's careful and informed choice of words makes A Brain for Innovation more than simply a captivating read for neuroscience enthusiasts but also a reminder that creativity is available to each of us by the very nature of being human.
Admittedly, I found myself anticipating the arrival of a chapter or two on the neuroscience of non-imagination—a chapter which didn’t come. Aphantasia, in which voluntary imagination is partially or completely disrupted across one or many of the senses, is a neurological phenomenon that affects up to 4 percent of the global population. Aphantasia is under-researched; the neural basis of the absence of imagination is unclear, too. Though I don't feel this is an omission within the direct scope of this book, the opportunity to learn about aphantasia from a professor with interests and expertise in the field of imagination neuroscience would be useful to the general readership.
A Brain for Innovation details cellular and systems neuroscience of imagination first, then fluidly builds the reader’s understanding that imagination facilitates the development of expression, language, culture, society, innovative design, and beyond. This book may invite readers with any of these overlapping interests due to its story-like narratives. While reading A Brain for Innovation, one could easily feel like they’ve sat down for a lecture on imagination that is equally inquisitive, informative, and inspiring.
Citation:
Johanné Marais.
Review of
Jung, Min W..
A Brain for Innovation: The Neuroscience of Imagination and Abstract Thinking.
H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews.
October, 2025.
URL:
https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=62046
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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