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Ivancovsky T, Baror S, Bar M. A shared novelty-seeking basis for creativity and curiosity: Response to the commentators. Behav Brain Sci 2024; 47:e119. [PMID: 38770845 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x24000293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
In our target article, we proposed that curiosity and creativity are both manifestations of the same novelty-seeking process. We received 29 commentaries from diverse disciplines that add insights to our initial proposal. These commentaries ultimately expanded and supplemented our model. Here we draw attention to five central practical and theoretical issues that were raised by the commentators: (1) The complex construct of novelty and associated concepts; (2) the underlying subsystems and possible mechanisms; (3) the different pathways and subtypes of curiosity and creativity; (4) creativity and curiosity "in the wild"; (5) the possible link(s) between creativity and curiosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tal Ivancovsky
- Bar Ilan University Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Facultat de Psicologia, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Shira Baror
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
- Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Moshe Bar
- Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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2
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Roddick KM, Schellinck HM, Brown RE. Serial reversal learning in an olfactory discrimination task in 3xTg-AD mice. Learn Mem 2023; 30:310-319. [PMID: 37977821 PMCID: PMC10750865 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053840.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Male and female 3xTg-AD mice between 5 and 24 mo of age and their B6129F2/J wild-type controls were tested on a series of 18 olfactory discrimination and reversal tasks in an operant olfactometer. All mice learned the odor discriminations and reversals to a criterion of 85% correct, but the 3xTg-AD mice made fewer errors than the B6129F2/J mice in the odor discriminations and in the first six reversal learning tasks. Many mice showed evidence of near errorless learning, and on the reversal tasks the 3xTg-AD mice showed more instances of near errorless learning than the B6129F2/J mice. There was no evidence of an age effect on odor discrimination, but there was a decrease in errorless reversal learning in aged B6129F2/J mice. In long-term memory tests, there was an increase in the number of errors made but no genotype difference. The high level of performance indicates that the mice were able to develop a "learning to learn" strategy. The finding that the 3xTg-AD mice outperformed their littermate controls provides an example of paradoxical functional facilitation in these mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle M Roddick
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Heather M Schellinck
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Richard E Brown
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
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Friedman G, Turk KW, Budson AE. The Current of Consciousness: Neural Correlates and Clinical Aspects. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 2023; 23:345-352. [PMID: 37303019 PMCID: PMC10287796 DOI: 10.1007/s11910-023-01276-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW In this review, we summarize the current understanding of consciousness including its neuroanatomic basis. We discuss major theories of consciousness, physical exam-based and electroencephalographic metrics used to stratify levels of consciousness, and tools used to shed light on the neural correlates of the conscious experience. Lastly, we review an expanded category of 'disorders of consciousness,' which includes disorders that impact either the level or experience of consciousness. RECENT FINDINGS Recent studies have revealed many of the requisite EEG, ERP, and fMRI signals to predict aspects of the conscious experience. Neurological disorders that disrupt the reticular activating system can affect the level of consciousness, whereas cortical disorders from seizures and migraines to strokes and dementia may disrupt phenomenal consciousness. The recently introduced memory theory of consciousness provides a new explanation of phenomenal consciousness that may explain better than prior theories both experimental studies and the neurologist's clinical experience. Although the complete neurobiological basis of consciousness remains a mystery, recent advances have improved our understanding of the physiology underlying level of consciousness and phenomenal consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garrett Friedman
- Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
| | - Katherine W Turk
- Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Andrew E Budson
- Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA, 02130, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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Friedberg A, Pasquini L, Diggs R, Glaubitz EA, Lopez L, Illán-Gala I, Iaccarino L, La Joie R, Mundada N, Knudtson M, Neylan K, Brown J, Allen IE, Rankin KP, Bonham LW, Yokoyama JS, Ramos EM, Geschwind DH, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Miller ZA, Kramer JH, Rosen H, Gorno-Tempini ML, Rabinovici G, Seeley WW, Miller BL. Prevalence, Timing, and Network Localization of Emergent Visual Creativity in Frontotemporal Dementia. JAMA Neurol 2023; 80:377-387. [PMID: 36848111 PMCID: PMC9972248 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
Importance The neurological substrates of visual artistic creativity (VAC) are unknown. VAC is demonstrated here to occur early in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and multimodal neuroimaging is used to generate a novel mechanistic hypothesis involving dorsomedial occipital cortex enhancement. These findings may illuminate a novel mechanism underlying human visual creativity. Objective To determine the anatomical and physiological underpinnings of VAC in FTD. Design, Setting, and Participants This case-control study analyzed records of 689 patients who met research criteria for an FTD spectrum disorder between 2002 and 2019. Individuals with FTD and emergence of visual artistic creativity (VAC-FTD) were matched to 2 control groups based on demographic and clinical parameters: (1) not visually artistic FTD (NVA-FTD) and (2) healthy controls (HC). Analysis took place between September 2019 to December 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures Clinical, neuropsychological, genetic, and neuroimaging data were analyzed to characterize VAC-FTD and compare VAC-FTD with control groups. Results Of 689 patients with FTD, 17 (2.5%) met VAC-FTD inclusion criteria (mean [SD] age, 65 [9.7] years; 10 [58.8%] female). NVA-FTD (n = 51; mean [SD] age, 64.8 [7] years; 25 [49.0%] female) and HC (n = 51; mean [SD] age, 64.5 [7.2] years; 25 [49%] female) groups were well matched to VAC-FTD demographically. Emergence of VAC occurred around the time of onset of symptoms and was disproportionately seen in patients with temporal lobe predominant degeneration (8 of 17 [47.1%]). Atrophy network mapping identified a dorsomedial occipital region whose activity inversely correlated, in healthy brains, with activity in regions found within the patient-specific atrophy patterns in VAC-FTD (17 of 17) and NVA-FTD (45 of 51 [88.2%]). Structural covariance analysis revealed that the volume of this dorsal occipital region was strongly correlated in VAC-FTD, but not in NVA-FTD or HC, with a volume in the primary motor cortex corresponding to the right-hand representation. Conclusions and Relevance This study generated a novel hypothesis about the mechanisms underlying the emergence of VAC in FTD. These findings suggest that early lesion-induced activation of dorsal visual association areas may predispose some patients to the emergence of VAC under certain environmental or genetic conditions. This work sets the stage for further exploration of enhanced capacities arising early in the course of neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adit Friedberg
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Lorenzo Pasquini
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Neuroscape, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Ryan Diggs
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Erika A. Glaubitz
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Lucia Lopez
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Ignacio Illán-Gala
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Leonardo Iaccarino
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- now with Eli Lilly and Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Renaud La Joie
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Nidhi Mundada
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Marguerite Knudtson
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Kyra Neylan
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Jesse Brown
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Isabel Elaine Allen
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Katherine P. Rankin
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Luke W. Bonham
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Jennifer S. Yokoyama
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Eliana M. Ramos
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Daniel H. Geschwind
- Program in Neurogenetics, Center for Autism Research and Treatment Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Institute for Precision Health, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Salvatore Spina
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Lea T. Grinberg
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Zachary A. Miller
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Joel H. Kramer
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Howard Rosen
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Gil Rabinovici
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Associate Editor, JAMA Neurology
| | - William W. Seeley
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Bruce L. Miller
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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From brain images to drawings - New insights informing the creativity-psychopathology debate: Commentary on "Can we really 'read' art to see the changing brain? A review and empirical assessment of clinical case reports and published artworks for systematic evidence of quality and style changes linked to damage or neurodegenerative disease" by Pelowski et al. Phys Life Rev 2023; 44:179-183. [PMID: 36773388 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Treven M. Are neurodegenerative disorders causing characteristic changes in visual artwork?: Commentary on "Can we really 'read' art to see the changing brain?" by M. Pelowski, B.T.M. Spee, J. Arato, F. Dörflinger, T. Ishizu, A. Richard. Phys Life Rev 2023; 44:102-104. [PMID: 36586307 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marco Treven
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Medical Neuroscience Cluster, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
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Can we really 'read' art to see the changing brain? A review and empirical assessment of clinical case reports and published artworks for systematic evidence of quality and style changes linked to damage or neurodegenerative disease. Phys Life Rev 2022; 43:32-95. [PMID: 36179555 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The past three decades have seen multiple reports of people with neurodegenerative disorders, or other forms of changes in their brains, who also show putative changes in how they approach and produce visual art. Authors argue that these cases may provide a unique body of evidence, so-called 'artistic signatures' of neurodegenerative diseases, that might be used to understand disorders, provide diagnoses, be employed in treatment, create patterns of testable hypotheses for causative study, and also provide unique insight into the neurobiological linkages between the mind, brain, body, and the human penchant for art-making itself. However-before we can begin to meaningfully build from such emerging findings, much less formulate applications-not only is such evidence currently quite disparate and in need of systematic review, almost all case reports and artwork ratings are entirely subjective, based on authors' personal observations or a sparse collection of methods that may not best fit underlying research aims. This leads to the very real question of whether we might actually find patterns of systematic change if fit to a rigorous review-Can we really 'read' art to illuminate possible changes in the brain? How might we best approach this topic in future neuroscientific, clinical, and art-related research? This paper presents a review of this field and answer to these questions. We consider the current case reports for seven main disorders-Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal and Lewy body dementia, corticobasal degeneration, aphasia, as well as stroke-consolidating arguments for factors and changes related to art-making and critiquing past methods. Taking the published artworks from these papers, we then conduct our own assessment, employing computerized and human-rater-based approaches, which we argue represent best practice to identify stylistic or creativity/quality changes. We suggest, indeed, some evidence for systematic patterns in art-making for specific disorders and also find that case authors showed rather high agreement with our own assessments. More important, through opening this topic and past evidence to a systematic review, we hope to open a discussion and provide a theoretical and empirical foundation for future application and research on the intersection of art-making and the neurotypical, the changed, and the artistic brain.
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“Dendroarchitectonics”: From Santiago Ramón y Cajal to Enrique Ramón-Moliner or vice versa? Neurol Sci 2022; 43:5807-5820. [PMID: 35674996 PMCID: PMC9474365 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06151-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Here, we review the morphological taxonomy of neurons proposed by Enrique Ramón-Moliner in the vertebrate central nervous system based on "dendroarchitectonics" and compare these findings with Santiago Ramón y Cajal's work. Ramón-Moliner distinguished three main groups of nerve cells situated on a spectrum of dendritic configuration in the mammalian central nervous system with decreasing degree of morphological specialization, i.e., idiodendritic, allodendritic, and isodendritic neurons. Leptodendritic neurons would be an even more primitive type, and lophodendritic nerve cells would develop into pyramidal neurons. Using two developmental lines (i.e., telencephalic and rhombencephalic trends), Ramón-Moliner reconstructed the probable course of events in the phylogenetic history that led to the dendroarchitectonic families. While an increasing morphological specialization is associated with the projected phylogenetic development as an abstract "whole," phylogenetically "primitive neurons" such as the reticular formation may be present in later phylogenetic stages, and vice versa, phylogenetical "new arrivals," such as the cortical pyramidal cell, may be found early in phylogeny. Thus, Ramón-Moliner adopted the notion of an in-parallel neuronal development during phylogeny and ontogeny. In contrast, Cajal argued earlier in favor of the idea that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, focusing on the pyramidal neuron. In ontogeny, the early developmental features show a higher degree of similarity than the comparison of their adult forms. These results corroborate the rejection of the interpretative framework of ontogeny as a simple, speedy repetition of the phylogeny. Understanding morphological findings with the change in their interpretation and the historic underpinnings provide a framework for refined scientific hypotheses.
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Daviddi S, Orwig W, Palmiero M, Campolongo P, Schacter DL, Santangelo V. Individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory do not show enhanced creative thinking. Memory 2022; 30:1148-1157. [PMID: 35786156 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2022.2094416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Creative ideas are thought to result from flexible recombination of concepts from memory. A growing number of behavioural and neuroscientific studies provide evidence of a link between episodic memory and divergent thinking; however, little is known about the potential contributions of autobiographical memory to creative ideation. To provide a novel perspective on this issue, we assessed measures of divergent and convergent creative thinking in a cohort (n = 14) of rare individuals showing Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). The HSAM cohort completed memory tasks in addition to a battery of creativity measures, including the Alternative Uses Task, Consequences Task and Remote Associates Task. We performed statistical analyses to establish whether there were any significant differences between HSAM and controls (n = 28) across these measures. Although HSAM participants were superior in the recall of autobiographical events compared to controls, we observed no overall difference between the groups in relation to the creativity measures. These findings suggest that the constructive episodic processes relevant to creative thinking are not enhanced in individuals with HSAM, perhaps because they are compulsively and narrowly focused on consolidation and retrieval of autobiographical events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Daviddi
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - William Orwig
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Massimiliano Palmiero
- Department of Biotechological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Patrizia Campolongo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,CERC, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Valerio Santangelo
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.,Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Nascent visual artistic expression following right hemisphere subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2022; 99:47-50. [PMID: 35598419 DOI: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2022.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Geser F, Mitrovics TCG, Haybaeck J, Yilmazer-Hanke D. Premorbid de novo artistic creativity in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) syndromes. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2021; 128:1813-1833. [PMID: 34618237 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-021-02426-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of new artistic activities or shifts in artistic style in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) syndromes is well documented at or after disease onset. However, a closer look in the literature reveals emerging artistic creativity also before FTD onset, although the significance and underlying pathology of such creative endeavors remain elusive. Here, we systematically review relevant studies and report an additional FTD case to elaborate on artistic activities that developed years before disease manifestation by paying particular attention to the sequence of events in individual patients' biography and clinical history. We further discuss the FTD patient's creative activities in the context of their life events, other initial or "premorbid" dementia symptoms or risk factors described in the literature such as mental illness and mild behavioral impairment (MBI), as well as changes in neuronal systems (i.e., neuroimaging and neuropathology). In addition to our FTD patient, we identified five published cases with an FTD syndrome, including three with FTD, one with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and one with the behavioral variant of PPA (bvPPA). Premorbid novel creativity emerged across different domains (visual, musical, writing), with the FTD diagnosis ensuing artistic productivity by a median of 8 years. Data on late-life and pre-dementia life events were available in four cases. The late creative phase in our case was accompanied by personality changes, accentuation of personality traits, and cessation of painting activities occurred with the onset of memory complaints. Thus, premorbid personality changes in FTD patients can be associated with de novo creative activity. Stressful life events may also contribute to the burgeoning of creativity. Moreover, primary neocortical areas that are largely spared by pathology at early FTD stages may facilitate the engagement in artistic activities, offering a window of opportunity for art therapy and other therapeutic interventions during the MBI stage or even earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Geser
- Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Klinikum Christophsbad, Faurndauer Str. 6-28, 73035, Göppingen, Germany.
| | - Tibor C G Mitrovics
- Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Klinikum Christophsbad, Göppingen, Germany
| | - Johannes Haybaeck
- Institute of Pathology, Neuropathology and Molecular Pathology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.,Diagnostic & Research Center for Molecular Biomedicine, Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Deniz Yilmazer-Hanke
- Clinical Neuroanatomy, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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Fusi G, Crepaldi M, Colautti L, Palmiero M, Antonietti A, Rozzini L, Rusconi ML. Divergent Thinking Abilities in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Mini-Review. Front Psychol 2021; 12:652543. [PMID: 33935913 PMCID: PMC8085258 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.652543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A large number of studies, including single case and case series studies, have shown that patients with different types of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by the emergence of artistic abilities. This led to the hypothesis of enhanced creative thinking skills as a function of these pathological conditions. However, in the last years, it has been argued that these brain pathologies lead only to an augmented “drive to produce” rather than to the emergence of creativity. Moreover, only a few studies analyzed specific creative skills, such as divergent thinking (DT), by standardized tests. This Mini-Review aimed to examine the extent to which DT abilities are preserved in patients affected by FTD. Results showed that DT abilities (both verbal and figural) are altered in different ways according to the specific anatomical and functional changes associated with the diverse forms of FTD. On the one hand, patients affected by the behavioral form of FTD can produce many ideas because of unimpaired access to memory stores (i.e., episodic and semantic), but are not able to recombine flexibly the information to produce original ideas because of damages in the pre-frontal cortex. On the other hand, patients affected by the semantic variant are impaired also in terms of fluency because of the degradation of their semantic memory store. Potential implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Fusi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Maura Crepaldi
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Laura Colautti
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | - Luca Rozzini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Maria Luisa Rusconi
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
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