Lotze

One of the few imaging studies to focus specifically on writing, rather than on language use in general, was led by the neuroscientist Martin Lotze, at the University of Greifswald, in Germany, and the findings were published in the journal NeuroImage, in 2014.

Lotze also compared brain scans of amateur writers with those of people who pursue writing as a career.

Lotze noted that, during the brainstorming part of the test, magnetic imaging showed that the sensorimotor and visual areas were activated; once creative writing started, these areas were joined by the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left thalamus, and the inferior temporal gyrus.

Lotze designed a small desk where the study’s subjects could write by hand while he scanned their brains.

His attorney, Nikki Lotze, said she had advised him not to speak, because he intends to appeal his conviction.