Maxine Annel· Research
Window into the Creative Mind
Live experiment capturing neural signatures of musical improvisation with pianist Chelsea de Souza
Window into the Creative Mind is a live experiment exploring the neural signatures of musical creativity. Pianist Chelsea de Souza, a classical and jazz musician, wore a portable EEG cap while improvising variations on musical themes provided by the research team.
The Experiment
The experiment was designed so that de Souza’s improvisations would get progressively farther away from the original musical theme, allowing researchers to observe whether there were any neural signatures of this creative divergence in a real-world setting.
Real-Time Visualization
The brain activity captured by the EEG cap was visualized and projected onto a screen in real-time by multimedia artist and composer Badie Khaleghian. Our neuroengineering team handled the full EEG data capture pipeline — from electrode setup and signal monitoring to synchronization — and contributed to designing the visual representation so that the projected brain dynamics accurately reflected the neural activity as it unfolded during the performance.
Research Questions
- What neural patterns emerge during musical improvisation?
- How does the brain behave when moving from familiar themes to original ideas?
- Can we identify the “signature” of creative thinking in real-time?
Event Details
The event at Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts included background presentations by Drs. Brandt and Contreras-Vidal, followed by a Q&A session.
Team
- Performer — Chelsea de Souza (Shepherd School of Music doctoral student)
- Composer — Anthony Brandt (Rice University)
- Neuro-Engineers — Maxine Annel Pacheco-Ramírez, Aime Judith Aguilar-Herrera, Yoshua E. Lima-Carmona, Lianne Sánchez-Rodríguez
- Visualization — Badie Khaleghian
- Principal Investigator — Dr. Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal
What’s Next
This project started in March 2024 and continues to evolve. An upcoming data collection and presentation is planned for TSFNC 2026 (The Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity) in Philadelphia, expanding our research on neural signatures of musical improvisation and creativity.