Apparently, the type of creativity involved in jazz improvisation does a funny thing to the prefrontal cortex. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex deactivates while the medial prefrontal cortex activates. From the article:
. . .the researchers found that much of the change between improvisation and memorization occurred in the prefrontal cortex, the region of the frontal lobe of the brain that helps us think and problem-solve and that provides a sense of self. Interestingly, the large portion responsible for monitoring one’s performance (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) shuts down completely during improvisation, while the much smaller, centrally located region at the foremost part of the brain (medial prefrontal cortex) increases in activity. The medial prefrontal cortex is involved in self-initiated thoughts and behaviors, and is very active when a person describes an event that has happened to him or makes up a story. The researchers explain that, just as over-thinking a jump shot can cause a basketball player to fall out of the zone and perform poorly, the suppression of inhibitory, self-monitoring brain mechanisms helps to promote the free flow of novel ideas and impulses. While this brain pattern is unusual, it resembles the pattern seen in people when they are dreaming.
Another unusual finding was that there was increased neural activity in each of the sensory areas during improvisation, including those responsible for touch, hearing and vision, despite the fact that there were no significant differences in what individuals were hearing, touching and seeing during both memorized and improvised conditions. “It’s almost as if the brain ramps up its sensorimotor processing in order to be in a creative state,” said Limb. The systems that regulate emotion were also engaged during improvisation.
Here’s a nifty picture of what’s going on:
Three-dimensional surface projection of activations and deactivations associated with improvisation during the Jazz paradigm. Medial prefrontal cortex activation, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex deactivation, and sensorimotor activation can be seen. The scale bar shows the range of t-scores; the axes demonstrate anatomic orientation. Abbreviations: a, anterior; p, posterior; d, dorsal; v, ventral; R, right; L, left.
The DLPFC is heavily involved in fluid intelligence, the core component of g. I believe it is the seat of working memory. Don’t take my offhand word on it though.
i believe you are correct. However, it also depends on what type of working memory we are dealing with—e.g., visual vs. verbal. I’d think it’s a bit more accurate to say that the DLPFC is the seat of executive function, which is a core component of g and it controls the activation of working memory.