Individual differences in verbal creative thinking are reflected in the precuneus

Association between cortical thickness or surface area and divergent thinking in patients with bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVE

Divergent thinking is a critical creative cognitive process. Its neural mechanisms have been well-studied through structural and functional imaging in healthy individuals but are less explored in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Because of the traditional link between creativity and BD, this study investigated the structural correlates of divergent thinking in patients with BD through surface-based morphometry.

METHODS

Fifty-nine patients diagnosed with BD I or BD II (35.3 ± 8.5 years) and 56 age- and sex-matched controls (33.9 ± 7.4 years) were recruited. The participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and an evaluation of divergent thinking by using the Chinese version of the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA). FreeSurfer 7.0 was used to generate thickness and surface area maps for each participant. Brainwise regression of the association between cortical thickness or surface area and ATTA performance was conducted using general linear models.

RESULTS

Divergent thinking performance did not differ significantly between the patients with BD and the healthy controls. In these patients, total ATTA score was negatively correlated with cortical thickness in the right middle frontal gyrus, right occipital, and left precuneus but positively correlated with the surface area of the right superior frontal gyrus. By contrast, total ATTA scores and cortical thickness or surface area were not significantly correlated among the controls.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that divergent thinking involves cerebral structures for executive control, mental imagery, and visual processing in patients with BD, and the right prefrontal cortex might be the most crucial of these structures.

Automated individual cortical parcellation via consensus graph representation learning

Cortical parcellation plays a pivotal role in elucidating the brain organization. Despite the growing efforts to develop parcellation algorithms using functional magnetic resonance imaging, achieving a balance between intra-individual specificity and inter-individual consistency proves challenging, making the generation of high-quality, subject-consistent cortical parcellations particularly elusive. To solve this problem, our paper proposes a fully automated individual cortical parcellation method based on consensus graph representation learning. The method integrates spectral embedding with low-rank tensor learning into a unified optimization model, which uses group-common connectivity patterns captured by low-rank tensor learning to optimize subjects' functional networks. This not only ensures consistency in brain representations across different subjects but also enhances the quality of each subject's representation matrix by eliminating spurious connections. More importantly, it achieves an adaptive balance between intra-individual specificity and inter-individual consistency during this process. Experiments conducted on a test-retest dataset from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) demonstrate that our method outperforms existing methods in terms of reproducibility, functional homogeneity, and alignment with task activation. Extensive network-based comparisons on the HCP S900 dataset reveal that the functional network derived from our cortical parcellation method exhibits greater capabilities in gender identification and behavior prediction than other approaches.

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.

Psychological resilience-related functional connectomes predict creative personality

Both psychological resilience and creativity are complex concepts that have positive effects on individual adaptation. Previous studies have shown overlaps between the key brain regions or brain functional networks related to psychological resilience and creativity. However, no direct experimental evidence has been provided to support the assumption that psychological resilience and creativity share a common brain basis. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between psychological resilience and creativity using neural imaging method with a machine learning approach. At the behavioral level, we found that psychological resilience was positively related to creative personality. Predictive analysis based on static functional connectivity (FC) and dynamic FC demonstrated that FCs related to psychological resilience could effectively predict an individual's creative personality score. Both the static FC and dynamic FC were mainly located in the default mode network. These results prove that psychological resilience and creativity share a common brain functional basis. These findings also provide insights into the possibility of promoting individual positive adaptation from negative events or situations in a creative way.

Bidirectional relationship between insular grey matter volume and alexithymia: Evidence from a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

The insula is considered to be involved in emotional cognitive processes, and may be structurally altered in people with alexithymia. However, it remains unclear how the relationship between the insula and alexithymia changes over time. This study aimed to investigate whether alexithymia has longitudinal relationship with the insular structure.

METHODS

Having processed structural MRI data via FreeSurfer, the insula was divided into five sub-regions, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale was administered to assess alexithymia in the general population. Subsequently, we established the latent change score models between insular sub-regions and the alexithymia (N = 252).

RESULTS

The TAS-20 mean value of the sample at Time 1 was not significantly different by sex (t = -0.993, df = 250, p = 0.321), while the TAS-20 mean value at Time 2 was slightly different by sex (t = 2.025, df = 250, p = 0.044). Most insular grey matter volumes at Time 1 and Time 2 were significantly associated with TAS-20 at Time 2. The baseline alexithymia and insular grey matter volume positively predicted the other's rate of change between Time 1 and Time 2 in a bidirectional way.

LIMITATIONS

This study had a limited number of measurement time points, potential bias due to smaller sample sizes and gender imbalance, as well as the potential for inaccuracy in the self-report measure of alexithymia.

CONCLUSIONS

Time-lagged alexithymia changes and insular grey matter volume changes occur in coupled manner over time, which might improve our understanding of the neurological underpinnings of alexithymia, and shed light on clinical and psychological treatment for alexithymia.

Cognitive Processes and Resting-State Functional Neuroimaging Findings in High Schizotypal Individuals and Schizotypal Personality Disorder Patients: A Systematic Review

Ample research findings indicate that there is altered brain functioning in the schizophrenia spectrum. Nevertheless, functional neuroimaging findings remain ambiguous for healthy individuals expressing high schizotypal traits and patients with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). The purpose of this systematic review was to identify patterns of task-related and resting-state neural abnormalities across these conditions. MEDLINE-PubMed and PsycINFO were systematically searched and forty-eight studies were selected. Forty studies assessed healthy individuals with high schizotypal traits and eight studies examined SPD patients with functional neuroimaging techniques (fNIRS; fMRI; Resting-state fMRI). Functional alterations in striatal, frontal and temporal regions were found in healthy individuals with high schizotypal traits. Schizotypal personality disorder was associated with default mode network abnormalities but further research is required in order to better conceive its neural correlates. There was also evidence for functional compensatory mechanisms associated with both conditions. To conclude, the findings suggest that brain dysfunctions are evident in individuals who lie along the subclinical part of the spectrum, further supporting the continuum model for schizophrenia susceptibility. Additional research is required in order to delineate the counterbalancing processes implicated in the schizophrenia spectrum, as this approach will provide promising insights for both conversion and protection from conversion into schizophrenia.

Uncovering neural distinctions and commodities between two creativity subsets: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies in divergent thinking and insight using activation likelihood estimation

The dual‐process theory that two different systems of thought coexist in creative thinking has attracted considerable attention. In the field of creative thinking, divergent thinking (DT) is the ability to produce multiple solutions to open‐ended problems in a short time. It is mainly considered an associative and fast process. Meanwhile, insight, the new and unexpected comprehension of close‐ended problems, is frequently marked as a deliberate and time‐consuming thinking process requiring concentrated effort. Previous research has been dedicated to revealing their separate neural mechanisms, while few studies have compared their differences and similarities at the brain level. Therefore, the current study applied Activation Likelihood Estimation to decipher common and distinctive neural pathways that potentially underlie DT and insight. We selected 27 DT studies and 30 insight studies for retrospective meta‐analyses. Initially, two single analyses with follow‐up contrast and conjunction analyses were performed. The single analyses showed that DT mainly involved the inferior parietal lobe (IPL), cuneus, and middle frontal gyrus (MFG), while the precentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), parahippocampal gyrus (PG), amygdala (AMG), and superior parietal lobe were engaged in insight. Compared to insight, DT mainly led to greater activation in the IPL, the crucial part of the default mode network. However, insight caused more significant activation in regions related to executive control functions and emotional responses, such as the IFG, MFG, PG, and AMG. Notably, the conjunction analysis detected no overlapped areas between DT and insight. These neural findings implicate that various neurocognitive circuits may support DT and insight.

The neural substrates of sex differences in balanced time perspective: A unique role for the precuneus

Sex differences in various aspects of behaviour and cognition have been widely observed. Few studies, however, have explored potential sex differences in maintaining a balanced time perspective or their underlying neural correlates. To address these questions, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, time perspective was assessed in 1913 college students (796 males and 1117 females), revealing that females had a significantly more balanced time perspective relative to males. In Study 2, 58 males and 47 females underwent an assessment of time perspective and structural brain imaging. Voxel-based morphometry analysis and cortical thickness analysis were conducted to explore associations between the structural imaging data and balanced time perspective. Compared with males, females demonstrated a more balanced time perspective in the context of lower grey matter volume in the bilateral precuneus, right cerebellum, right putamen and left supplementary motor area. Analysis of cortical thickness failed to reveal any significant sex differences. Furthermore, lower grey matter volume of bilateral precuneus was associated with more balanced time perspective among all participants. Our findings point to a critical role for the precuneus in modulating a balanced time perspective, and extend our understanding of sex differences in human cognition. Future studies are required to determine whether sex differences in balanced time perspective are predictive of functional outcomes in daily life.

Cognitive flexibility in children with Developmental Language Disorder: Drawing of nonexistent objects

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt thoughts and behaviors to new environments. Previous studies investigating cognitive flexibility in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) present contradictory findings. In the current study, cognitive flexibility was assessed in 5- and 6-year-old preschoolers with DLD (n = 23) and peers with typical development (TD; n = 50) using a nonexistent object drawing (NEOD) task. The children were asked to draw a nonexistent man and a nonexistent house. The children with DLD did not differ from their peers with TD on simple category changes, which were comprised of changes in the size or shape of parts of the object, change of the whole shape of the object, and deletion of parts of the object. Nevertheless, children with DLD made fewer more complex, high-level category changes, which included same-category insertions, position exchange of object's parts, and cross-category insertions. The difference between DLD and TD on high-level category changes was related to differences between the two groups in verbal short-term memory and inhibition. Furthermore, children with DLD made no changes to their original drawings of an existing man and house more often than their peers with TD. It is concluded that children with DLD aged 5-6 years show less flexibility on the NEOD task than age-matched children with TD. This difference in cognitive flexibility may be related to lower levels of verbal short-term memory and inhibition ability of children with DLD, or to different use of these cognitive skills on the NEOD task.

Brain Entropy is Associated with Divergent Thinking

Creativity is the ability to generate original and useful products, and it is considered central to the progression of human civilization. As a noninherited emerging process, creativity may stem from temporally dynamic brain activity, which, however, has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to measure brain dynamics using entropy and to examine the associations between brain entropy (BEN) and divergent thinking in a large healthy sample. The results showed that divergent thinking was consistently positively correlated with regional BEN in the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/pre-supplementary motor area and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, suggesting that creativity is closely related to the functional dynamics of the control networks involved in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Importantly, our main results were cross-validated in two independent cohorts from two different cultures. Additionally, three dimensions of divergent thinking (fluency, flexibility, and originality) were positively correlated with regional BEN in the left inferior frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus, suggesting that more highly creative individuals possess more flexible semantic associative networks. Taken together, our findings provide the first evidence of the associations of regional BEN with individual variations in divergent thinking and show that BEN is sensitive to detecting variations in important cognitive abilities in healthy subjects.

Aberrant dorsal attention network homogeneity in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy

The dorsal attention network (DAN) is involved in the process that causes wide-ranging cognitive damage resulted in right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE). Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated the relationship between DAN and rTLE. There has been little research on alterations in the network homogeneity (NH) of the DAN in rTLE. The aim of the present study was to investigate NH changes in DAN in patients with rTLE. We included 85 patients with rTLE and 69 healthy controls in this study, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired. The NH method was used for data analysis. All subjects took the attention network test (ANT). Network homogeneity in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL) and right precuneus (PCU) was significantly higher in patients with rTLE than in healthy controls. The reaction time (RT) was significantly longer in patients with rTLE than in controls. Notably, we observed no significant relationship between the clinical variables and the abnormal NH. These results indicated that abnormal alterations in DAN existed in patients with rTLE and highlighted the crucial role of DAN in the pathophysiology of cognitive damage in rTLE. Our findings suggested that the executive function (EF) significantly weakened in patients with rTLE.

Changes in Cortical Thickness Are Associated With Cognitive Ability in Postoperative School-Aged Children With Tetralogy of Fallot

In children with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), there is a risk of brain injury even if intracardiac deformities are corrected. This population follow-up study aimed to identify the correlation between cerebral morphology changes and cognition in postoperative school-aged children with TOF. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Chinese revised edition (WISC-CR) were used to assess the difference between children with TOF and healthy children (HCs). Multiple linear regression showed that the TOF group had a lower verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ, 95.000 ± 13.433, p = 0.001) than the HC group and that VIQ had significant positive correlations with the cortical thickness of both the left precuneus (p < 0.05) and the right caudal middle frontal gyrus (p < 0.05) after adjustment for preoperative SpO2, preoperative systolic blood pressure (SBP), preoperative diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and time of aortic override (AO). Our results suggested that brain injury induced by TOF would exert lasting effects on cortical and cognitive development at least to school age. This study provides direct evidence of the relationship between cortical thickness and VIQ and of the need for strengthened verbal training in school-aged TOF patients after corrective surgery.

Resting state functional connectivity underlying musical creativity

While the behavior of "being musically creative"- improvising, composing, songwriting, etc.-is undoubtedly a complex and highly variable one, recent neuroscientific investigation has offered significant insight into the neural underpinnings of many of the creative processes contributing to such behavior. A previous study from our research group (Bashwiner et al., 2016), which examined two aspects of brain structure as a function of creative musical experience, found significantly increased cortical surface area or subcortical volume in regions of the default-mode network, a motor planning network, and a "limbic" network. The present study sought to determine how these regions coordinate with one another and with other regions of the brain in a large number of participants (n ​= ​218) during a task-neutral period, i.e., during the "resting state." Deriving from the previous study's results a set of eleven regions of interest (ROIs), the present study analyzed the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) from each of these seed regions as a function of creative musical experience (assessed via our Musical Creativity Questionnaire). Of the eleven ROIs investigated, nine showed significant correlations with a total of 22 clusters throughout the brain, the most significant being located in bilateral cerebellum, right inferior frontal gyrus, midline thalamus (particularly the mediodorsal nucleus), and medial premotor regions. These results support prior reports (by ourselves and others) implicating regions of the default-mode, executive, and motor-planning networks in musical creativity, while additionally-and somewhat unanticipatedly-including a potentially much larger role for the salience network than has been previously reported in studies of musical creativity.

Mind wandering in creative problem-solving: Relationships with divergent thinking and mental health

Previous research has shown that mind wandering has both positive and negative effects. Mind wandering may improve creative problem solving; however, it could also lead to negative moods and poor mental health. It has also been shown that some forms of mental illness are positively related to creativity. However, the three factors of mind wandering, divergent thinking, and mental health have not been examined simultaneously, so it is possible that these relationships are manifested by spurious correlations. Therefore, we examined the relations among the three factors while controlling for each of their confounding effects. We asked 865 participants (458 men, 390 women, 17 unknown; M_age = 18.99 years, SD = 1.16) to complete a questionnaire measuring mind wandering traits, divergent thinking, and mental health measures including depressive symptoms and schizotypal personality. Multiple regression analysis showed that people who reported more depressive symptoms, schizotypal personality, and divergent thinking, were more likely to engage in mind-wandering. Our results indicated that frequency of mind wandering was linked to a risk of poorer mental health as well as to higher divergent thinking ability. In future research, we will examine the features of mind wandering related to divergent thinking and mental health by considering the contents of wandering thoughts and whether they are ruminative or not. We also need to examine whether the same results will be found when studying professionals in creative occupations, and when using different scoring methods in divergent thinking tests.

The Evaluation of Creative Ideas in Older and Younger Adults

Abstract. The ability to solve problems of divergent type is one of the most intact functions in successful aging. However, neurophysiologic mechanisms that support the efficiency of creative thinking remain largely unknown. This study was aimed to investigate age-related difference in localized induced electroencephalogram (EEG) changes during creative idea evaluation stage of divergent problem-solving (Alternate Uses Task), using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography. Younger (45 women, 44 men, Mage = 22.1 years, age range: 18–30 years) and older adults (46 women, 43 men, Mage = 64.9 years, age range: 55–75 years) participated in the study. Higher synchronization in individually adjusted theta frequency band [from (individual alpha peak frequency −6 Hz) to (individual alpha peak frequency −4 Hz)] in anterior areas with the maximum values in anterior cingulate gyrus was revealed in older as compared with younger participants by group contrast. Higher desynchronization in wide beta range [from (individual alpha peak frequency +2 Hz) to 30 Hz] was localized in posterior brain regions with the highest values in posterior cingulate gyrus, precuneus, and parietal lobule in older adults. Induced beta 2 synchronization was positively correlated with originality (as measured by the mean frequency of ideas) in younger and years of education in older subjects. Based on the data, it was supposed that controlling the decision-making processes is more important for older adults while maintenance of the internal image of elements’ recombination may play essential role for younger subjects.

Default network contributions to episodic and semantic processing during divergent creative thinking: A representational similarity analysis

Cognitive and neuroimaging evidence suggests that episodic and semantic memory-memory for autobiographical events and conceptual knowledge, respectively-support different aspects of creative thinking, with a growing number of studies reporting activation of brain regions within the default network during performance on creative thinking tasks. The present research sought to dissociate neural contributions of these memory processes by inducing episodic or semantic retrieval orientations prior to performance on a divergent thinking task during fMRI. We conducted a representational similarity analysis (RSA) to identify multivoxel patterns of neural activity that were similar across induction (episodic and semantic) and idea generation. At the behavioral level, we found that semantic induction was associated with increased idea originality, assessed via computational estimates of semantic distance between concepts. RSA revealed that multivoxel patterns during semantic induction and subsequent idea generation were more similar (compared to episodic induction) within the left angular gyrus (AG), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and left anterior inferior parietal lobe (IPL). Conversely, activity patterns during episodic induction and subsequent generation were more similar within left parahippocampal gyrus and right anterior IPL. Together, the findings point to dissociable contributions of episodic and semantic memory processes to creative cognition and suggest that distinct regions within the default network support specific memory-related processes during divergent thinking.

Neuroimaging predictors of creativity in healthy adults

Neuroimaging has revealed numerous neural predictors of individual differences in creativity; however, with most of these identified in only one study, sometimes involving very small samples, their reliability is uncertain. To contribute to a convergent cognitive neuroscience of creativity, we conducted a pre-registered conceptual replication and extension study in which we assessed previously reported predictors of creativity using a multimodal approach, incorporating volumetric, white matter, and functional connectivity neuroimaging data. We assessed sets of pre-registered predictors against prevailing measures of creativity, including visual and verbal tests of divergent thinking, everyday creative behaviour, and creative achievement. We then conducted whole-brain exploratory analyses. Greater creativity was broadly predicted by features of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and inferior parietal lobe (IPL), including both local grey matter and white matter predictors in the IFG, the superior longitudinal fasciculus that connects them, and IFG-IPL functional connectivity. As IFG and IPL are important nodes within executive control and default mode networks (DMN), respectively, this result supports the view that executive modulation of DMN activity optimizes creative ideation. Furthermore, white matter integrity of the basal ganglia was also a generalizable creativity predictor, and exploratory analyses revealed the anterior lobe of the cerebellum and the parahippocampal gyrus to both be reliable predictors of creativity across neuroimaging modalities. This pattern aligns with proposals ascribing roles of working and long-term memory to problem-solving and imagination. Overall, our findings help to consolidate some, but not all, neural correlates of individual differences that have been discussed in the cognitive neuroimaging of creativity, yielding a subset that appear particularly promising for focused future investigation.

The oblique effect: The relationship between profiles of visuospatial preference, cognition, and brain connectomics in older adults

The oblique effect (OE) describes the visuospatial advantage for identifying stimuli oriented horizontally or vertically rather than diagonally; little is known about brain aging and the OE. We investigated this relationship using the Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO) in 107 older adults (∼age = 67.8 ± 6.6; 51% female) together with neuropsychological tests of executive functioning (EF), attention/information processing (AIP), and neuroimaging. Only JLO lines falling between 36-54° or 126-144° were considered oblique. To quantify the oblique effect, we calculated z-scores for oblique errors (zOblique = #oblique errors/#oblique lines), and similarly, horizontal + vertical line errors (zHV), and a composite measure of oblique relative to HV errors (zOE). Composite z-scores of EF and AIP reflected domains associated with JLO performance. Graph theory analysis integrated T1-derived volumetry and diffusion MRI-derived white matter tractography into connectivity matrices analyzed for select network properties. Participants produced more zOblique than zHV errors (p < 0.001). Age was not associated with zOE adjusting for sex, education, and MMSE. Similarly adjusted linear regression models revealed that lower EF was associated with a larger oblique effect (p < 0.001). Modular analyses of neural connectivity revealed a differential patterns of network affiliation that varied by high versus low group status determined via median split of zOblique and zHV errors, separately. Older adults exhibit the oblique effect and it is associated with specific cognitive processes and regional brain networks that may facilitate future investigations of visuospatial preference in aging.

Different Effects of Motivation Orientation on Ideational Flexibility: Key Role of Optimism

The present study investigated the relationships between motivation orientation (approach and avoidance motivations) and ideational flexibility and the potential effects of optimism on these associations in a large behavioral sample of 320 healthy young adults. As predicted, the approach motivation-ideational flexibility relationship and the avoidance motivation-ideational flexibility relationship were differentially affected by individual difference measures of dispositional optimism. More specifically, optimism significantly moderated the relationship between avoidance motivation and ideational flexibility, whereas it did not moderate the relationship between approach motivation and ideational flexibility. Detailed analysis revealed that avoidance motivation related positively to ideational flexibility, especially for people with low optimism. Furthermore, in an external validation analysis using data obtained from an independent sample of participants (replication cohort; n = 249), we showed that dispositional optimism can reliably affect the approach motivation-ideational flexibility relationship and the avoidance motivation-ideational flexibility relationship differentially. These findings help resolve the ongoing controversy surrounding the nature of the motivation orientation-creativity nexus and have potential implications for current practice and interventions.

Polygenic Score of Subjective Well-Being Is Associated with the Brain Morphology in Superior Temporal Gyrus and Insula

Subjective well-being (SWB) is closely related to our physical and mental health. Existing studies show that neural or genetic basis underpins individual difference in SWB. Moreover, researchers have found high enrichment of SWB-related mutations in the central nervous system, but the relationship between the genetic architecture of SWB and brain morphology has not been explored. Considering the polygenic nature of SWB, in this study, we aim to establish a measure of additive genetic effect on SWB and explore its relationship to the brain anatomical structure. Based on the results of genome-wide association study (GWAS) on SWB, the polygenic scores (PGSs) of SWB at eight different thresholds were calculated in a large Chinese sample (N = 585). Then, we analyzed the associations between the PGSs of SWB and cortical thickness (CT) or gray matter volume (GMV) measured from 3.0-T structural imaging data. In whole-brain analyses, we found that a higher PGS was significantly associated with increased CT in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and GMV in the right insula, both of which are involved in social cognition and emotional processing. More importantly, these findings were repeatable at some different thresholds. The results may suggest that the brain morphology of right STG and insula is partly regulated by SWB-related genetic factors.

Altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in patients with retinal vein occlusion indicated by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

The aim of the present study was to explore the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF; a measurement of spontaneous brain activity) in different brain regions of patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and its association with vision changes measurements. A total of 24 RVO patients (12 males and 12 females) and 24 healthy controls (HCs, 12 males and 12 females) were recruited, and they were closely matched regarding age, gender and education level (classified according to nine-year compulsory education in China and higher education, all including primary school, junior school, high school and university). ALFF values of different brain regions were gathered and analyzed, and statistical analysis software was used to explore the correlations between the average ALFF signals and clinical features. The ability of ALFF values to distinguish between subjects with RVO and HCs was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The results indicated that the subjects from the RVO group had higher ALFF values than the HCs in the posterior lobe of the left cerebellum, inferior temporal gyrus, cerebellar anterior lobe, right cerebellum posterior/anterior lobe, and lower ALFF values in the medial frontal gyrus, right precuneus, left middle frontal gyrus, right angular gyrus and right superior frontal gyrus. The ROC curve analysis of each brain region indicated that the accuracy of the area under the ROC curves regarding the prediction of RVO was excellent. The best-corrected visual acuity (VA) in the left eye was positively correlated with the ALFF value of the right precuneus (r=0.767, P=0.004) and the best-corrected VA in the right eye was positively correlated with the ALFF value of the left middle frontal gyrus (r=0.935, P<0.001). The central subfield retinal thickness in the left eye was negatively correlated with the ALFF value of the right precuneus (r=−0.895; P<0.001). The duration of RVO in the right eye was positively correlated with the ALFF value of the left middle frontal gyrus (r=0.868; P<0.001). In conclusion, the present results indicate that RVO is associated with dysfunction of diverse brain regions, including language- and movement-associated areas, which may reflect the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of RVO (trial registry no. CDYFY-LL-2017025).

Two critical brain networks for generation and combination of remote associations

Recent functional imaging findings in humans indicate that creativity relies on spontaneous and controlled processes, possibly supported by the default mode and the fronto-parietal control networks, respectively. Here, we examined the ability to generate and combine remote semantic associations, in relation to creative abilities, in patients with focal frontal lesions. Voxel-based lesion-deficit mapping, disconnection-deficit mapping and network-based lesion-deficit approaches revealed critical prefrontal nodes and connections for distinct mechanisms related to creative cognition. Damage to the right medial prefrontal region, or its potential disrupting effect on the default mode network, affected the ability to generate remote ideas, likely by altering the organization of semantic associations. Damage to the left rostrolateral prefrontal region and its connections, or its potential disrupting effect on the left fronto-parietal control network, spared the ability to generate remote ideas but impaired the ability to appropriately combine remote ideas. Hence, the current findings suggest that damage to specific nodes within the default mode and fronto-parietal control networks led to a critical loss of verbal creative abilities by altering distinct cognitive mechanisms.

Intrinsic default-executive coupling of the creative aging brain

Creativity refers to the ability to generate novel associations and has been linked to better problem-solving and real-world functional abilities. In younger adults, creative cognition has been associated with functional connectivity among brain networks implicated in executive control [fronto-parietal network (FPN) and salience network (SN)] and associative or elaborative processing default network (DN). Here, we investigate whether creativity is associated with the intrinsic network architecture of the brain and how these associations may differ for younger and older adults. Young (mean age: 24.76, n = 22) and older (mean age: 70.03, n = 44) adults underwent multi-echo functional magnetic resonance image scanning at rest and completed a divergent-thinking task to assess creative cognition outside the scanner. Divergent thinking in older adults, compared to young adults, was associated with functional connectivity between the default and both executive control networks (FPN and SN) as well as more widespread default-executive coupling. Finally, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex appears to be a critical node involved in within- and between-network connectivity associated with creative cognition in older adulthood. Patterns of intrinsic network coupling revealed here suggest a putative neural mechanism underlying a greater role for mnemonic processes in creative cognition in older adulthood.

Network Neuroscience of Creative Cognition: Mapping Cognitive Mechanisms and Individual Differences in the Creative Brain

Network neuroscience research is providing increasing specificity on the contribution of large-scale brain networks to creative cognition. Here, we summarize recent experimental work examining cognitive mechanisms of network interactions and correlational studies assessing network dynamics associated with individual creative abilities. Our review identifies three cognitive processes related to network interactions during creative performance: goal-directed memory retrieval, prepotent-response inhibition, and internally-focused attention. Correlational work using prediction modeling indicates that functional connectivity between networks-particularly the executive control and default networks-can reliably predict an individual's creative thinking ability. We discuss potential directions for future network neuroscience, including assessing creative performance in specific domains and using brain stimulation to test causal hypotheses regarding network interactions and cognitive mechanisms of creative thought.

Driving the brain towards creativity and intelligence: A network control theory analysis

High-level cognitive constructs, such as creativity and intelligence, entail complex and multiple processes, including cognitive control processes. Recent neurocognitive research on these constructs highlight the importance of dynamic interaction across neural network systems and the role of cognitive control processes in guiding such a dynamic interaction. How can we quantitatively examine the extent and ways in which cognitive control contributes to creativity and intelligence? To address this question, we apply a computational network control theory (NCT) approach to structural brain imaging data acquired via diffusion tensor imaging in a large sample of participants, to examine how NCT relates to individual differences in distinct measures of creative ability and intelligence. Recent application of this theory at the neural level is built on a model of brain dynamics, which mathematically models patterns of inter-region activity propagated along the structure of an underlying network. The strength of this approach is its ability to characterize the potential role of each brain region in regulating whole-brain network function based on its anatomical fingerprint and a simplified model of node dynamics. We find that intelligence is related to the ability to "drive" the brain system into easy to reach neural states by the right inferior parietal lobe and lower integration abilities in the left retrosplenial cortex. We also find that creativity is related to the ability to "drive" the brain system into difficult to reach states by the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (inferior frontal junction) and higher integration abilities in sensorimotor areas. Furthermore, we found that different facets of creativity-fluency, flexibility, and originality-relate to generally similar but not identical network controllability processes. We relate our findings to general theories on intelligence and creativity.

Longitudinal Alterations of Frontoparietal and Frontotemporal Networks Predict Future Creative Cognitive Ability

Creative cognition is important to academic performance and career success during late adolescence and adulthood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal data on whether brain structural development could predict improvements in creative thinking, and how such changes interact with other cognitive abilities to support creative performance. Here we examined longitudinal alterations of brain structure and their relation to creative cognitive ability in a sample of 159 healthy young adults who were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging 2-3 times over the course of 3 years. The most robust predictor of future creative ability was the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which in conjunction with baseline creative capacity showed a 31% prediction rate. Longitudinal analysis revealed that slower decreases in gray matter density within left frontoparietal and right frontotemporal clusters predicted enhanced creative ability. Moreoever, the relationship between longitudinal alterations within frontal-related clusters and improved creative ability was moderated by the right DLPFC and working memory ability. We conclude that continuous goal-directed planning and accumulated knowledge are implemented in the right DLPFC and temporal areas, respectively, which in turn support longitudinal gains in creative cognitive ability.

Neuroanatomical changes in people with high schizotypy: relationship to glutamate levels

BACKGROUND

Cortical glutamatergic dysfunction is thought to be fundamental for psychosis development, and may lead to structural degeneration through excitotoxicity. Glutamate levels have been related to gray matter volume (GMV) alterations in people at ultra-high risk of psychosis, and we previously reported GMV changes in individuals with high schizotypy (HS), which refers to the expression of schizophrenia-like characteristics in healthy people. This study sought to examine whether GMV changes in HS subjects are related to glutamate levels.

METHODS

We selected 22 healthy subjects with HS and 23 healthy subjects with low schizotypy (LS) based on their rating on a self-report questionnaire for psychotic-like experiences. Glutamate levels were measured in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and GMV was assessed using voxel-based morphometry.

RESULTS

Subjects with HS showed GMV decreases in the rolandic operculum/superior temporal gyrus (pFWE = 0.045). Significant increases in GMV were also detected in HS, in the precuneus (pFWE = 0.043), thereby replicating our previous finding in a separate cohort, as well as in the ACC (pFWE = 0.041). While the HS and LS groups did not differ in ACC glutamate levels, in HS subjects ACC glutamate was negatively correlated with ACC GMV (pFWE = 0.026). Such association was absent in LS.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that GMV findings in schizotypy are related to glutamate levels, supporting the hypothesis that glutamatergic function may lead to structural changes associated with the expression of psychotic-like experiences.

The Relationship Between General Intelligence and Cortical Structure in Healthy Individuals

Considerable work in recent years has examined the relationship between cortical thickness (CT) and general intelligence (IQ) in healthy individuals. It is not known whether specific IQ variables (i.e., perceptual reasoning [PIQ], verbal comprehension IQ [VIQ], and full-scale IQ [FSIQ]) are associated with multiple cortical measures (i.e., CT, cortical volume (CV), cortical surface area (CSA) and cortical gyrification (CG)) within the same individuals. Here we examined the association between these neuroimaging metrics and IQ in 56 healthy adults. At a cluster-forming threshold (CFT) of p < 0.05, we observed significant positive relationships between CT and all three IQ variables in regions within the posterior frontal and superior parietal lobes. Regions within the temporal and posterior frontal lobes exhibited positive relationships between CV and two IQ variables (PIQ and FSIQ) and regions within the inferior parietal lobe exhibited positive relationships between CV and PIQ. Additionally, CV was positively associated with VIQ in the left insula and with FSIQ within the inferior frontal gyrus. At a more stringent CFT (p < 0.01), the CT-PIQ, CT-VIQ, CT-FSIQ, and CV-PIQ relationships remained significant within the posterior frontal lobe, as did the CV-PIQ relationship within the temporal and inferior parietal lobes. We did not observe statistically significant relationships between IQ and either CSA or CG. Our findings suggest that the neural basis of IQ extends beyond previously observed relationships with fronto-parietal regions. We also conclude that CT and CV may be more useful metrics than CSA or CG in the study of intellectual abilities.

The association between visual creativity and cortical thickness in healthy adults

Creativity is necessary to human survival, human prosperity, civilization and well-being. Visual creativity is an important part of creativity and is the ability to create products of novel and useful visual forms, playing important role in many fields such as art, painting and sculpture. There have been several neuroimaging studies exploring the neural basis of visual creativity. However, to date, little is known about the relationship between cortical structure and visual creativity as measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Here, we investigated the association between cortical thickness and visual creativity in a large sample of 310 healthy adults. We used multiple regression to analyze the correlation between cortical thickness and visual creativity, adjusting for gender, age and general intelligence. The results showed that visual creativity was significantly negatively correlated with cortical thickness in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right supplementary motor cortex (SMA) and the left insula. These observations have implications for understanding that a thinner prefrontal cortex (PFC) (e.g. IFG, MFG), SMA and insula correspond to higher visual creative performance, presumably due to their role in executive attention, cognitive control, motor planning and dynamic switching.

Experimental effects of acute exercise and music listening on cognitive creativity

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to extend previous experimental work suggesting that both exercise and music-based interventions may influence creativity processes, by investigating the independent influences of exercise or music stimuli on verbal creative performances in the laboratory environment.

METHODS

32 students at the University of Mississippi participated in this within-subject intervention, which included three laboratory visits per participant. Individuals participated in three 15-min, randomized experimental conditions: Treadmill walking, self-selected music, or a seated control period, and subsequently completed four creativity assessments during each visit (three tests of divergent thinking, and one test of convergent thinking), with the order of divergent thinking tasks counterbalanced. Creativity task performance was independently scored across four dependent parameters, which included fluency (i.e., total number of ideas), flexibility (i.e., total number of categories), originality (i.e., responses thought of by <5% of the sample), and elaboration (i.e., degree of supplementary detail included per idea).

RESULTS

Repeated Measures ANOVAs indicated that creativity scores for fluency (F(2, 60) = 0.63, p = 0.94), flexibility (F(2, 60) = 0.64, p = 0.53), originality (F(2, 60 = 0.23, p = 0.78), and elaboration (F(2, 60) = 2.74, p = 0.07), were not statistically significant across the visits.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings add to the equivocal body of creativity research, uniquely assessing the effects of exercise and music on verbal creativity performance. The present study further highlights the critical need for improvement in the assessment and evaluation of laboratory-assessed cognitive creativity. Methodological strategies must be examined and refined for the meaningful and credible measurement and interpretation of experimental creativity.

Neural and genetic determinants of creativity

Creative thinking plays a vital role in almost all aspects of human life. However, little is known about the neural and genetic mechanisms underlying creative thinking. Based on a cross-validation based predictive framework, we searched from the whole-brain connectome (34,716 functional connectivities) and whole genome data (309,996 SNPs) in two datasets (all collected by Southwest University, Chongqing) consisting of altogether 236 subjects, for a better understanding of the brain and genetic underpinning of creativity. Using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking score, we found that high figural creativity is mainly related to high functional connectivity between the executive control, attention, and memory retrieval networks (strong top-down effects); and to low functional connectivity between the default mode network, the ventral attention network, and the subcortical and primary sensory networks (weak bottom-up processing) in the first dataset (consisting of 138 subjects). High creativity also correlates significantly with mutations of genes coding for both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. Combining the brain connectome and the genomic data we can predict individuals' creativity scores with an accuracy of 78.4%, which is significantly better than prediction using single modality data (gene or functional connectivity), indicating the importance of combining multi-modality data. Our neuroimaging prediction model built upon the first dataset was cross-validated by a completely new dataset of 98 subjects (r = 0.267, p = 0.0078) with an accuracy of 64.6%. In addition, the creativity-related functional connectivity network we identified in the first dataset was still significantly correlated with the creativity score in the new dataset (p<10^-3). In summary, our research demonstrates that strong top-down control versus weak bottom-up processes underlie creativity, which is modulated by competition between the glutamate and GABA neurotransmitter systems. Our work provides the first insights into both the neural and the genetic bases of creativity.

Self-construals moderate associations between trait creativity and social brain network

Creativity is an adaptive way of thinking and plays a key role in problem solving. Recent brain imaging studies focused on structural and functional characteristics of the brain that are correlated with creativity. But whether and how the association between creativity and the brain is moderated by individuals' cultural traits remains unclear. We integrated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and questionnaire measures (Williams creativity aptitude test) of trait creativity and self-construal (e.g., interdependence) in male adults to examine whether trait creativity is associated with neural activities underlying social cognition and whether and how the association is moderated by individuals' self-construals. We found that interdependence moderates the association between trait creativity and neural activities in the left superior temporal sulcus, right anterior insular, right temporal-parietal junction and right precentral gyrus engaged in reflection of one's own social attributes. Interdependence also moderates the association between trait creativity and neural activities in the left superior temporal sulcus and right posterior insular involved in reflection of a friend's social attributes. The link of trait creativity and the functional connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and postcentral gyri during reflection of a friend's social attributes is also moderated by interdependence. Participants with high and low creativity traits can be dissociated in a three-dimension space defined by integration of interdependence and the brain activity underlying reflection of one's own and the friend's attributes. Our findings suggest that trait creativity is imprinted on the social brain and the link between trait creativity and the neural activities underlying the processing of self and others is moderated by a cultural trait.

Verbal or Visual Memory Score and Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Alzheimer Disease

Objective

Among many cognitive function deficits, memory impairment is an initial and cardinal symptom in Alzheimer disease (AD). In most cases, verbal and visual memory scores correlate highly, but in some cases the deficit of verbal or visual memory is very different from that of the other memory. In this study, we examined the neural substrates of verbal and visual memory in patients with AD.

Methods

One hundred eighty-eight consecutive patients with AD were recruited from outpatient units. Verbal and visual memory scores were evaluated using the Wechsler Memory Scale – revised. The patients underwent brain SPECT with ^99mTc-ethylcysteinate dimer.

Results

After removing the effects of age, sex, education, and Mini-Mental State Examination scores, correlation analysis showed a significant correlation of verbal memory scores to regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the bilateral cingulate gyrus and left precuneus. Similarly, a significant correlation of visual memory scores to rCBF was found in the right precuneus and right cingulate gyrus.

Conclusion

The posterior medial cortices (PMC) are very important areas in episodic memory among patients with mild AD. Verbal memory is more closely related to the both sides of the PMC, while visual memory is more closely related to the right PMC.

Association between resting-state brain network topological organization and creative ability: Evidence from a multiple linear regression model

Previous studies have indicated a tight linkage between resting-state functional connectivity of the human brain and creative ability. This study aimed to further investigate the association between the topological organization of resting-state brain networks and creativity. Therefore, we acquired resting-state fMRI data from 22 high-creativity participants and 22 low-creativity participants (as determined by their Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking scores). We then constructed functional brain networks for each participant and assessed group differences in network topological properties before exploring the relationships between respective network topological properties and creative ability. We identified an optimized organization of intrinsic brain networks in both groups. However, compared with low-creativity participants, high-creativity participants exhibited increased global efficiency and substantially decreased path length, suggesting increased efficiency of information transmission across brain networks in creative individuals. Using a multiple linear regression model, we further demonstrated that regional functional integration properties (i.e., the betweenness centrality and global efficiency) of brain networks, particularly the default mode network (DMN) and sensorimotor network (SMN), significantly predicted the individual differences in creative ability. Furthermore, the associations between network regional properties and creative performance were creativity-level dependent, where the difference in the resource control component may be important in explaining individual difference in creative performance. These findings provide novel insights into the neural substrate of creativity and may facilitate objective identification of creative ability.

Neuronal Correlates of Individual Differences in the Big Five Personality Traits: Evidences from Cortical Morphology and Functional Homogeneity

There have been many neuroimaging studies of human personality traits, and it have already provided glimpse into the neurobiology of complex traits. And most of previous studies adopt voxel-based morphology (VBM) analysis to explore the brain-personality mechanism from two levels (vertex and regional based), the findings are mixed with great inconsistencies and the brain-personality relations are far from a full understanding. Here, we used a new method of surface-based morphology (SBM) analysis, which provides better alignment of cortical landmarks to generate about the associations between cortical morphology and the personality traits across 120 healthy individuals at both vertex and regional levels. While to further reveal local functional correlates of the morphology-personality relationships, we related surface-based functional homogeneity measures to the regions identified in the regional-based SBM correlation. Vertex-wise analysis revealed that people with high agreeableness exhibited larger areas in the left superior temporal gyrus. Based on regional parcellation we found that extroversion was negatively related with the volume of the left lateral occipito-temporal gyrus and agreeableness was negatively associated with the sulcus depth of the left superior parietal lobule. Moreover, increased regional homogeneity in the left lateral occipito-temporal gyrus is related to the scores of extroversion, and increased regional homogeneity in the left superior parietal lobule is related to the scores of agreeableness. These findings provide supporting evidence of a link between personality and brain structural mysteries with a method of SBM, and further suggest that local functional homogeneity of personality traits has neurobiological relevance that is likely based on anatomical substrates.

The neural correlates of moral decision-making: A systematic review and meta-analysis of moral evaluations and response decision judgements

The aims of this systematic review were to determine: (a) which brain areas are consistently more active when making (i) moral response decisions, defined as choosing a response to a moral dilemma, or deciding whether to accept a proposed solution, or (ii) moral evaluations, defined as judging the appropriateness of another's actions in a moral dilemma, rating moral statements as right or wrong, or identifying important moral issues; and (b) shared and significantly different activation patterns for these two types of moral judgements. A systematic search of the literature returned 28 experiments. Activation likelihood estimate analysis identified the brain areas commonly more active for moral response decisions and for moral evaluations. Conjunction analysis revealed shared activation for both types of moral judgement in the left middle temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, and medial frontal gyrus. Contrast analyses found no significant clusters of increased activation for the moral evaluations-moral response decisions contrast, but found that moral response decisions additionally activated the left and right middle temporal gyrus and the right precuneus. Making one's own moral decisions involves different brain areas compared to judging the moral actions of others, implying that these judgements may involve different processes.

Structural correlates of creative thinking in patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls-a voxel-based morphometry study

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the structural correlates of creative thinking in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to understand the possible neural mechanism of creative thinking in BD.

METHODS

We recruited 59 patients with BD I or BD II (35.3±8.5 y) and 56 age- and sex-matched controls (HCs; 34±7.4 y). Each participant underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and evaluation of creative thinking, which was assessed using two validated tools: the Chinese version of the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults for divergent thinking and the Chinese Word Remote Associates Test for remote association. Voxel-based morphometry was performed using SPM12.

RESULTS

In patients with BD, divergent thinking positively correlated with the gray matter volume (GMV) in right medial frontal gyrus (Brodmann area [BA] 9), and remote association positively correlated with the GMV in the medial prefrontal gyrus (BA 10). In the HCs, divergent thinking negatively correlated with the GMV in left superior frontal gyrus (BA 8) and positively correlated with the GMV in the precuneus and occipital regions, and remote association positively correlated with the GMV in the hippocampus.

LIMITATIONS

Patients with BD were receiving various dosages of antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilizer. These medications may confound the GMV-creative thinking relationship in patients with BD.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that medial prefrontal cortex plays a major and positive role in creative thinking in patients with BD. By contrary, creative thinking involves more diverse structures, and the prefrontal cortex may have an opposite effect in HCs.

Precuneus proportions and cortical folding: A morphometric evaluation on a racially diverse human sample

Recent analyses have suggested that the size and proportions of the precuneus are remarkably variable among adult humans, representing a major source of geometrical difference in midsagittal brain morphology. The same area also represents the main midsagittal brain difference between humans and chimpanzees, being more expanded in our species. Enlargement of the upper parietal surface is a specific feature of Homo sapiens, when compared with other fossil hominids, suggesting the involvement of these cortical areas in recent modern human evolution. Here, we provide a survey on midsagittal brain morphology by investigating whether precuneus size represents the largest component of variance within a larger and racially diverse sample of 265 adult humans. Additionally, we investigate the relationship between precuneus shape variation and folding patterns. Precuneus proportions are confirmed to be a major source of human brain variation even when racial variability is considered. Larger precuneus size is associated with additional precuneal gyri, generally in its anterior district. Spatial variation is most pronounced in the dorsal areas, with no apparent differences between hemispheres, between sexes, or among different racial groups. These dorsal areas integrate somatic and visual information together with the lateral elements of the parietal cortex, representing a crucial node for self-centered mental imagery. The histological basis and functional significance of this intra-specific variation in the upper precuneus remains to be evaluated.

Creative constraints: Brain activity and network dynamics underlying semantic interference during idea production

Functional neuroimaging research has recently revealed brain network interactions during performance on creative thinking tasks-particularly among regions of the default and executive control networks-but the cognitive mechanisms related to these interactions remain poorly understood. Here we test the hypothesis that the executive control network can interact with the default network to inhibit salient conceptual knowledge (i.e., pre-potent responses) elicited from memory during creative idea production. Participants studied common noun-verb pairs and were given a cued-recall test with corrective feedback to strengthen the paired association in memory. They then completed a verb generation task that presented either a previously studied noun (high-constraint) or an unstudied noun (low-constraint), and were asked to "think creatively" while searching for a novel verb to relate to the presented noun. Latent Semantic Analysis of verbal responses showed decreased semantic distance values in the high-constraint (i.e., interference) condition, which corresponded to increased neural activity within regions of the default (posterior cingulate cortex and bilateral angular gyri), salience (right anterior insula), and executive control (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) networks. Independent component analysis of intrinsic functional connectivity networks extended this finding by revealing differential interactions among these large-scale networks across the task conditions. The results suggest that interactions between the default and executive control networks underlie response inhibition during constrained idea production, providing insight into specific neurocognitive mechanisms supporting creative cognition.

Regional homogeneity, resting-state functional connectivity and amplitude of low frequency fluctuation associated with creativity measured by divergent thinking in a sex-specific manner

Brain connectivity is traditionally thought to be important for creativity. Here we investigated the associations of creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) with resting-state functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) measures and their sex differences. We examined these relationships in the brains of 1277 healthy young adults. Whole-brain analyses revealed a significant interaction between verbal CMDT and sex on (a) regional homogeneity within an area from the left anterior temporal lobe (b) on the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the mPFC and the left inferior frontal gyrus and (c) on fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in several distinct areas, including the precuneus and middle cingulate gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and cerebellum. These interactions were mediated by positive correlations in females and negative correlations in males. These findings suggest that greater CMDT in females is reflected by (a) regional coherence (regional homogeneity) of brain areas responsible for representing and combining concepts as well as (b) the efficient functional connection (RSFC) between the key areas for the default state of cognitive activity and speech production, and (c) greater spontaneous neural activity (fALFF) during the resting of brain areas involved in frontal lobe functions, default cognitive activities, and language functions. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the associations between creativity and resting state brain connectivity patterns are different between males and females.

Common and distinct brain networks underlying verbal and visual creativity

Creativity is imperative to the progression of human civilization, prosperity, and well-being. Past creative researches tends to emphasize the default mode network (DMN) or the frontoparietal network (FPN) somewhat exclusively. However, little is known about how these networks interact to contribute to creativity and whether common or distinct brain networks are responsible for visual and verbal creativity. Here, we use functional connectivity analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data to investigate visual and verbal creativity-related regions and networks in 282 healthy subjects. We found that functional connectivity within the bilateral superior parietal cortex of the FPN was negatively associated with visual and verbal creativity. The strength of connectivity between the DMN and FPN was positively related to both creative domains. Visual creativity was negatively correlated with functional connectivity within the precuneus of the pDMN and right middle frontal gyrus of the FPN, and verbal creativity was negatively correlated with functional connectivity within the medial prefrontal cortex of the aDMN. Critically, the FPN mediated the relationship between the aDMN and verbal creativity, and it also mediated the relationship between the pDMN and visual creativity. Taken together, decreased within-network connectivity of the FPN and DMN may allow for flexible between-network coupling in the highly creative brain. These findings provide indirect evidence for the cooperative role of the default and executive control networks in creativity, extending past research by revealing common and distinct brain systems underlying verbal and visual creative cognition. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2094-2111, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Discriminating the Difference between Remote and Close Association with Relation to White-Matter Structural Connectivity

Remote association is a core ability that influences creative output. In contrast to close association, remote association is commonly agreed to be connected with more original and unique concepts. However, although existing studies have discovered that creativity is closely related to the white-matter structure of the brain, there are no studies that examine the relevance between the connectivity efficiencies and creativity of the brain regions from the perspective of networks. Consequently, this study constructed a brain white matter network structure that consisted of cerebral tissues and nerve fibers and used graph theory to analyze the connection efficiencies among the network nodes, further illuminating the differences between remote and close association in relation to the connectivity of the brain network. Researchers analyzed correlations between the scores of 35 healthy adults with regard to remote and close associations and the connectivity efficiencies of the white-matter network of the brain. Controlling for gender, age, and verbal intelligence, the remote association positively correlated with the global efficiency and negatively correlated with the levels of small-world. A close association negatively correlated with the global efficiency. Notably, the node efficiency in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) positively correlated with remote association and negatively correlated with close association. To summarize, remote and close associations work differently as patterns in the brain network. Remote association requires efficient and convenient mutual connections between different brain regions, while close association emphasizes the limited connections that exist in a local region. These results are consistent with previous results, which indicate that creativity is based on the efficient integration and connection between different regions of the brain and that temporal lobes are the key regions for discriminating remote and close associations.

Prognostic value of imbalanced interhemispheric functional coordination in early therapeutic efficacy in major depressive disorder

This study aims to explore the early response of antidepressant therapy by measuring the voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) in major depressive disorder (MDD). Eighty-two MDD patients [n=42 treatment-responsive depression (RD) and n=40 non-responding depression (NRD)] and n=50 normal controls (NC) underwent clinical measures and a magnetic resonance imaging scan, and the VMHC values were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to determine the capability of altered VMHC to distinguish NRD. The NRD showed significantly decreased VMHC in bilateral precuneus (PCU) and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), and increased VMHC in middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and caudate nucleus as compared to RD. When compared with NC, the NRD exhibited reduced VMHC in bilateral cerebellum anterior lobe, thalamus and postcentral gyrus. Moreover, VHMC in medial frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus and precentral gyrus were significantly decreased in RD. Correlation analysis showed that reduced VMHC in PCU was negatively correlated with the baseline HAMD score of the NRD group. The ROC curve indicated that the combined changes of the three regional VMHC (PCU, ITG and MFG) could effectively identify NRD. The current study suggests that interhemispheric asynchrony may represents a novel neural trait underlying the prediction of early therapeutic outcome in MDD.

Creative females have larger white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study

The importance of brain connectivity for creativity has been theoretically suggested and empirically demonstrated. Studies have shown sex differences in creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) as well as sex differences in the structural correlates of CMDT. However, the relationships between regional white matter volume (rWMV) and CMDT and associated sex differences have never been directly investigated. In addition, structural studies have shown poor replicability and inaccuracy of multiple comparisons over the whole brain. To address these issues, we used the data from a large sample of healthy young adults (776 males and 560 females; mean age: 20.8 years, SD = 0.8). We investigated the relationship between CMDT and WMV using the newest version of voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We corrected for multiple comparisons over whole brain using the permutation-based method, which is known to be quite accurate and robust. Significant positive correlations between rWMV and CMDT scores were observed in widespread areas below the neocortex specifically in females. These associations with CMDT were not observed in analyses of fractional anisotropy using diffusion tensor imaging. Using rigorous methods, our findings further supported the importance of brain connectivity for creativity as well as its female-specific association. Hum Brain Mapp 38:414-430, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.