Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of left and right inferior frontal gyrus on creative divergent thinking are moderated by changes in inhibition control

Investigating the neural substrate variations between easy and challenging creative association tasks during product design within an fMRI scanner

In practice, individuals strive to develop highly original and valuable creative products within specific limitations. However, previous functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies focused on divergent-thinking tasks without considering the "valuableness" of an idea. Additionally, different types of creative tasks (e.g., the easier association vs. the harder association task) may engage distinct cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate the underlying neural mechanisms associated with different types of creative thinking, specifically focusing on the generation of the most original and valuable creative product within an fMRI scanner. Twenty-one college students participated in a block design study. During each trial, participants were instructed to draw the most original and valuable product inspired by a given figure. The findings revealed that, in comparison to the harder association task, the easier association task led to broader activation across multiple brain regions. However, this broader activation resulted in inefficient thinking and poorer creative performance. Notably, the orbitofrontal cortex exhibited activation across various creativity tasks and displayed connectivity with several seed brain regions, highlighting the importance of decision-making when only one original and valuable product design is allowed. Furthermore, the complex functional connectivity observed between different brain networks reflects the intricate nature of creative thinking. To conclude, widespread activation of brain regions does not necessarily indicate superior creativity. Instead, optimal creative performance within constraints is achieved through an efficient utilization of association for generating innovative ideas, inhibition for suppressing unoriginal ideas, and decision-making to select the most creative idea.

Divergent thinking benefits from functional antagonism of the left IFG and right TPJ: a transcranial direct current stimulation study

Divergent thinking is assumed to benefit from releasing the constraint of existing knowledge (i.e. top-down control) and enriching free association (i.e. bottom-up processing). However, whether functional antagonism between top-down control-related and bottom-up processing-related brain structures is conducive to generating original ideas is largely unknown. This study was designed to investigate the effect of functional antagonism between the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right temporoparietal junction on divergent thinking performance. A within-subjects design was adopted for three experiments. A total of 114 participants performed divergent thinking tasks after receiving transcranial direct current stimulation over target regions. In particular, cathodal stimulation over the left inferior frontal gyrus and anodal stimulation over the right inferior frontal gyrus (Experiment 1), anodal stimulation over the right temporoparietal junction (Experiment 2), and both cathodal stimulation over the left inferior frontal gyrus and anodal stimulation over the right temporoparietal junction (Experiment 3) were manipulated. Compared with sham stimulation, the combination of hyperpolarization of the left inferior frontal gyrus and depolarization of the right temporoparietal junction comprehensively promoted the fluency, flexibility, and originality of divergent thinking without decreasing the rationality of generated ideas. Functional antagonism between the left inferior frontal gyrus (hyperpolarization) and right temporoparietal junction (depolarization) has a "1 + 1 > 2" superposition effect on divergent thinking.

Executive functions-based reading training engages the cingulo-opercular and dorsal attention networks

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a computerized executive functions (EFs)-based reading intervention on neural circuits supporting EFs and visual attention. Seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analysis was conducted focusing on large-scale attention system brain networks, during an fMRI reading fluency task. Participants were 8- to 12-year-old English-speaking children with dyslexia (n = 43) and typical readers (n = 36) trained on an EFs-based reading training (n = 40) versus math training (n = 39). Training duration was 8 weeks. After the EFs-based reading intervention, children with dyslexia improved their scores in reading rate and visual attention (compared to math intervention). Neurobiologically, children with dyslexia displayed an increase in functional connectivity strength after the intervention between the cingulo-opercular network and occipital and precentral regions. Noteworthy, the functional connectivity indices between these brain regions showed a positive correlation with speed of processing and visual attention scores in both pretest and posttest. The results suggest that reading improvement following an EFs-based reading intervention involves neuroplastic connectivity changes in brain areas related to EFs and primary visual processing in children with dyslexia. Our results highlight the need for training underlying cognitive abilities supporting reading, such as EFs and visual attention, in order to enhance reading abilities in dyslexia.

Individual differences and creative ideation: neuromodulatory signatures of mindset and response inhibition

This study addresses the modulatory role of individual mindset in explaining the relationship between response inhibition (RI) and divergent thinking (DT) using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Forty undergraduate students (22 male and 18 female), aged between 18 and 23 years (average age = 19 years, SD = 1.48), were recruited. Participants received either anodal tDCS of the right IFG coupled with cathodal tDCS of the left IFG (R + L-; N = 19) or the opposite coupling (R-L+; N = 21). We tested DT performance using the alternative uses task (AUT), measuring participants' fluency, originality, and flexibility in the response production, as well as participants' mindsets. Furthermore, we applied a go-no-go task to examine the role of RI before and after stimulating the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) using tDCS. The results showed that the mindset levels acted as moderators on stimulation conditions and enhanced RI on AUT fluency and flexibility but not originality. Intriguingly, growth mindsets have opposite moderating effects on the change in DT, resulting from the tDCS stimulation of the left and the right IFG, with reduced fluency but enhanced flexibility. Our findings imply that understanding neural modulatory signatures of ideational processes with tDCS strongly benefits from evaluating cognitive status and control functions.

Less might be more: 1 mA but not 1.5 mA of tDCS improves tactile orientation discrimination

Background

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a frequently used brain stimulation method; however, studies on tactile perception using tDCS are inconsistent, which might be explained by the variations in endogenous and exogenous parameters that influence tDCS.

Objectives

We aimed to investigate the effect of one of these endogenous parameters-the tDCS amplitude-on tactile perception.

Methods

We conducted this experiment on 28 undergraduates/graduates aged 18-36 years. In separate sessions, participants received 20 min of 1 mA or 1.5 mA current tDCS in a counterbalanced order. Half of the participants received anodal tDCS of the left SI coupled with cathodal tDCS of the right SI, and this montage was reversed for the other half. Pre- and post-tDCS tactile discrimination performance was assessed using the Grating Orientation Task (GOT). In this task, plastic domes with gratings of different widths cut into their surfaces are placed on the fingertip, and participants have to rate the orientation of the gratings.

Results

Linear modeling with amplitude, dome, and session as within factors and montage as between factors revealed the following: significant main effects of grating width, montage, and session and a marginally significant interaction effect of session and amplitude. Posthoc t-tests indicated that performance in GOT improved after 1 mA but not 1.5 mA tDCS independent of the montage pattern of the electrodes.

Conclusion

Increasing the stimulation amplitude from 1 mA to 1.5 mA does not facilitate the tDCS effect on GOT performance. On the contrary, the effect seemed more robust for the lower-current amplitude.

Preventing prefrontal dysfunction by tDCS modulates stress-induced creativity impairment in women: an fNIRS study

Stress is a major external factor threatening creative activity. The study explored whether left-lateralized activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex manipulated through transcranial direct current stimulation could alleviate stress-induced impairment in creativity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to explore the underlying neural mechanisms. Ninety female participants were randomly assigned to three groups that received stress induction with sham stimulation, stress induction with true stimulation (anode over the left and cathode over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and control manipulation with sham stimulation, respectively. Participants underwent the stress or control task after the transcranial direct current stimulation manipulation, and then completed the Alternative Uses Task to measure creativity. Behavioral results showed that transcranial direct current stimulation reduced stress responses in heart rate and anxiety. The functional near-infrared spectroscopy results revealed that transcranial direct current stimulation alleviated dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex under stress, as evidenced by higher activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and frontopolar cortex, as well as stronger inter-hemispheric and intra-hemispheric functional connectivity within the prefrontal cortex. Further analysis demonstrated that the cortical regulatory effect prevented creativity impairment induced by stress. The findings validated the hemispheric asymmetry hypothesis regarding stress and highlighted the potential for brain stimulation to alleviate stress-related mental disorders and enhance creativity.

Comparing transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial random noise stimulation over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left inferior frontal gyrus: Effects on divergent and convergent thinking

The essential role of creativity has been highlighted in several human knowledge areas. Regarding the neural underpinnings of creativity, there is evidence about the role of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) on divergent thinking (DT) and convergent thinking (CT). Transcranial stimulation studies suggest that the left DLPFC is associated with both DT and CT, whereas left IFG is more related to DT. However, none of the previous studies have targeted both hubs simultaneously and compared transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and random noise stimulation (tRNS). Additionally, given the relationship between cognitive flexibility and creativity, we included it in order to check if the improvement in creativity may be mediated by cognitive flexibility. In this double-blind, between-subjects study, 66 healthy participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (N = 22) that received a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), or sham for 20 min. The tDCS group received 1.5 mA with the anode over the left DLPFC and cathode over the left IFG. Locations in tRNS group were the same and they received 1.5 mA of high frequency tRNS (100–500 Hz). Divergent thinking was assessed before (baseline) and during stimulation with unusual uses (UU) and picture completion (PC) subtests from Torrance Creative thinking Test, whereas convergent thinking was evaluated with the remote association test (RAT). Stroop test was included to assess cognitive flexibility. ANCOVA results of performance under stimulation (controlling for baseline performance) showed that there were significant differences in PC (F = 3.35, p = 0.042, np2 = 0.10) but not in UU (F = 0.61, p = 0.546) and RAT (F = 2.65, p = 0.079) scores. Post-hoc analyses showed that tRNS group had significantly higher scores compared to sham (p = 0.004) in PC. More specifically, tRNS showed higher performance in fluency (p = 0.012) and originality (p = 0.021) dimensions of PC compared to sham. Regarding cognitive flexibility, we did not find any significant effect of any of the stimulation groups (F = 0.34, p = 0.711). Therefore, no further mediation analyses were performed. Finally, the group that received tDCS reported more adverse effects than sham group (F = 3.46, p = 0.035). Altogether, these results suggest that tRNS may have some advantages over tDCS in DT.

The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Error Rates in the Distractor-Induced Deafness Paradigm

To further understand how consciousness emerges, certain paradigms inducing distractor-induced perceptual impairments are promising. Neuro-computational models explain the inhibition of conscious perception of targets with suppression of distractor information when the target and distractor share the same features. Because these gating mechanisms are controlled by the prefrontal cortex, transcranial direct current stimulation of this specific region is expected to alter distractor-induced effects depending on the presence and number of distractors. To this end, participants were asked to perform an auditory variant of the distractor-induced blindness paradigm under frontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Results show the expected distractor-induced deafness effects in a reduction of target detection depending on the number of distractors. While tDCS had no significant effects on target detection per se, error rates due to missed cues are increased under stimulation. Thus, while our variant led to successful replication of behavioral deafness effects, the results under tDCS stimulation indicate that the chosen paradigm may have difficulty too low to respond to stimulation. That the error rates nevertheless led to a tDCS effect may be due to the divided attention between the visual cue and the auditory target.

A neurocomputational model of creative processes

Creativity is associated with finding novel, surprising, and useful solutions. We argue that creative cognitive processes, divergent thinking, abstraction, and improvisation are constructed on different novelty-based processes. The prefrontal cortex plays a role in creative ideation by providing a control mechanism. Moreover, thinking about novel solutions activates the distant or loosely connected neurons of a semantic network that involves the hippocampus. Novelty can also be interpreted as different combinations of earlier learned processes, such as the motor sequencing mechanism of the basal ganglia. In addition, the cerebellum is responsible for the precise control of movements, which is particularly important in improvisation. Our neurocomputational perspective is based on three creative processes centered on novelty seeking, subserved by the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and dopamine. The algorithmic implementation of our model would enable us to describe commonalities and differences between these creative processes based on the proposed neural circuitry. Given that most previous studies have mainly provided theoretical and conceptual models of creativity, this article presents the first brain-inspired neural network model of creative cognition.

Evaluating the predictive validity of four divergent thinking tasks for the originality of design product ideation

What factors predict the originality of domain-specific idea generation? Replicating and extending an earlier study using a Design Product Ideation task in an introductory university design course, the present research, grounded in the componential theory of creativity, assessed the relative contributions to originality of design ideation from five factors: divergent thinking, personality traits, general cognitive ability, prior creative experience, and task-specific challenge/interest. The Design Product Ideation task asked participants, at two different timepoints, to propose ideas for products to improve either the experience of urban gardening or of outdoor picnics. Four divergent thinking tasks were used, including the predominantly conceptually-based Alternative Uses Task, a newly developed perceptually-based Figural Interpretation Quest, and two modified verbal tasks from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Torrance Suppose and Torrance Product). Regression analyses revealed that, at both timepoints, originality on the Design Product Ideation tasks was predicted by multiple divergent thinking, personality, and task-based factors. Originality of responses to the Figural Interpretation Quest was a significant predictor at both timepoints, and continued to add incremental value after controlling for the other divergent thinking measures. Collectively, these findings indicate that the four divergent thinking tasks, though related, do not measure identical constructs, and that many individual difference components, both trait-based (e.g., openness to experience) and more specifically task-based (e.g., perceived challenge of the task), shape creative performance. Methodologically, and from a practical standpoint, these findings underscore the value of incorporating both conceptual and perceptual measures of divergent thinking as contributors to originality in domain-specific idea generation.

Giving Ideas Some Legs or Legs Some Ideas? Children's Motor Creativity Is Enhanced by Physical Activity Enrichment: Direct and Mediated Paths

Approaches to foster motor creativity differ according to whether creative movements are assumed to be enacted creative ideas, or solutions to emerging motor problems that arise from task and environmental constraints. The twofold aim of the current study was to investigate whether (1) an enriched physical education (PE) intervention delivered with a joint constraints-led and cognitive stimulation approach fosters motor creativity, and the responsiveness to the intervention is moderated by baseline motor and cognitive skills and sex; (2) the intervention may benefit motor creativity through gains in motor coordination, executive function, and creative thinking. Ninety-five children, aged 6-9 years, participated in a 6-month group randomized trial with specialist-led enriched PE vs. generalist-led conventional PE. Before and after the intervention, Bertsch's Test of Motor Creativity, Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Random Number Generation task and Torrance Test of Creative Thinking were administered. Linear mixed models were run accounting for the random effects of data clusters. Multiple mediation analysis was performed to assess whether motor coordination, executive function and creative thinking mediated any improvement of motor creativity. Results showed that (1) specialist-led enriched PE, compared to generalist-led conventional practice, elicited a more pronounced improvement in all motor creativity dimensions (fluency, flexibility, and originality) independently of baseline levels of motor and cognitive skills and sex; and (2) improved motor creativity was partially mediated by improved motor coordination and, as regards motor flexibility, also by improved inhibitory ability. In conclusion, enriching PE with tailored manipulations of constraints and variability may enhance the ability to create multiple and original task-pertinent movements both directly and through indirect paths. The results are discussed extending to motor creativity a theoretical framework that distinguishes different creativity modes. The intervention may have fostered the generation of creative movements directly through the exposure to variation in constraints, activating the sensorimotor 'flow' mode of creativity that bypasses higher-order cognition, but also indirectly through a systematic and conscious convergence on solutions, activating the 'deliberate' mode of creativity that relies on inhibition to reject common or task-inappropriate movement categories.