The Psychology of Collecting

How Creativity Drives Desire: Exploring the Neural Mechanisms of Creativity and How they Relate to Collecting

As you can see in this diagram, dopamine that’s used in the mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways (shown in purple) is produced in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The dopamine is then projected to the nucleus accumbens (mesolimbic pathway) or the prefrontal cortex (mesocortical pathway).

by Shirley M. Mueller, M.D. Creativity is not just for artists—it’s present in solving problems, making jokes, or even collecting objects. The process of collecting activates a variety of brain networks that are vital to creativity. Attraction to an object is mediated…

Nick Boschetto
July 8, 2025