Overview

• Researchers at Duke University and German institutions used fMRI to study brain activity during problem-solving with hidden-picture puzzles.
• Sudden insights, or 'aha!' moments, were found to trigger bursts of activity in the hippocampus, a key region for memory and learning.
• These moments also reorganize visual cortical representations and improve connectivity between brain regions, enhancing communication efficiency.
• Solutions reached through insight were recalled significantly better than those solved methodically, with memory retention nearly doubling.
• The team plans follow-up experiments to investigate the neural processes occurring in the seconds leading up to an 'aha!' moment.