The neural bases of creativity and intelligence: common ground and differences

The time course of creativity: multivariate classification of default and executive network contributions to creative cognition over time

Research indicates that creative cognition depends on both associative and controlled processes, corresponding to the brain's default mode network (DMN) and executive control network (ECN) networks. However, outstanding questions include how the DMN and ECN operate over time during creative task performance, and whether creative cognition involves distinct generative and evaluative stages. To address these questions, we used multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to assess how the DMN and ECN contribute to creative cognition over three successive time phases during the production of a single creative idea. Training classifiers to predict trial condition (creative vs non-creative), we used classification accuracy as a measure of the extent of creative activity in each brain network and time phase. Across both networks, classification accuracy was highest in early phases, decreased in mid phases, and increased again in later phases, following a U-shaped curve. Notably, classification accuracy was significantly greater in the ECN than the DMN during early phases, while differences between networks at later time phases were non-significant. We also computed correlations between classification accuracy and human-rated creative performance, to assess how relevant the creative activity in each network was to the creative quality of ideas. In line with expectations, classification accuracy in the DMN was most related to creative quality in early phases, decreasing in later phases, while classification accuracy in the ECN was least related to creative quality in early phases, increasing in later phases. Given the theorized roles of the DMN in generation and the ECN in evaluation, we interpret these results as tentative evidence for the existence of separate generative and evaluative stages in creative cognition that depend on distinct neural substrates.

Creative Self-Efficacy Scale for Children and Adolescents (CASES): A Development and Validation Study

Creative self-efficacy has emerged as one of the most striking constructs in education. Yet, instruments to assess it in children and adolescents are scant. This article introduces the CASES, a new creative self-efficacy scale designed to address this concern. The process of development and initial validation of the scale are presented herein. Following the items' conception, exploratory, and confirmatory factorial analysis was performed. The final structure comprises nine items, evenly distributed by three factors: fluency, elaboration, and personality. Preliminary reliability and validity analysis display good psychometric properties, highlighting CASES as a potentially relevant addition to the creative self-efficacy assessment instruments array. Designed for children and adolescents (ages 3 to 16), it can uphold a developmental approach of creative self-efficacy, with potential implications within educational settings. Thus, it might be of interest for parents, educators, educational psychologists, researchers, and policymakers involved in designing curricula and interventions to nurture and enhance creative potential.

Intelligence and Creativity: Mapping Constructs on the Space-Time Continuum

This theoretical article proposes a unified framework of analysis for the constructs of intelligence and creativity. General definitions for intelligence and creativity are provided, allowing fair comparisons between the two context-embedded constructs. A novel taxonomy is introduced to classify the contexts in which intelligent and/or creative behavior can be embedded, in terms of the tightness vs. looseness of the relevant conceptual space S and available time T. These two dimensions are used to form what is identified as the space-time continuum, containing four quadrants: tight space and tight time, loose space and tight time, tight space and loose time, loose space and loose time. The intelligence and creativity constructs can be mapped onto the four quadrants and found to overlap more or less, depending on the context characteristics. Measurement methodologies adapted to the four different quadrants are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion about future research directions based on the proposed theoretical framework, in terms of theories and hypotheses on intelligence and creativity, of eminent personalities and personality traits, as well as its consequences for developmental, educational, and professional environments.

Neuroanatomy of creative achievement

Very few studies have investigated neuroanatomical correlates of "everyday" creative achievement in cohorts of normal subjects. In previous research, we first showed that scores on the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) were associated with lower cortical thickness within the left lateral orbitofrontal gyrus (LOFG), and increased thickness of the right angular gyrus (AG) (Jung et al., 2010). Newer studies found the CAQ to be associated with decreased volume of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and that artistic and scientific creativity was associated with increased and decreased volumes within the executive control network and salience network (Shi et al., 2017). We desired to replicate and extend our previous study in a larger cohort (N ​= ​248), comprised of subjects studying and working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Subjects were young (Range ​= ​16-32; Mean age ​= ​21.8; s.d. ​= ​3.5) all of whom were administered the CAQ, from which we derived artistic and scientific creativity factors. All subjects underwent structural MRI on a 3 ​T scanner from which cortical thickness, area, and volume measures were obtained using FreeSurfer. Our results showed mostly cortical thinning in relation to total, scientific, and artistic creative achievement encompassing many regions involved in the cognitive control network (CCN) and default mode network (DMN).