This made me think of the belief, in some psychology circles, that people with synesthesia are more creative. "Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."[0] Ex: certain numbers trigger certain colors in some people's brains.

Here is an article with a description of the idea and an attempt to explain the mechanism: http://mobile.www.daysyn.com/Wardetal2008.pdf

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia