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Wise TA, Kenett YN. Sparking creativity: Encouraging creative idea generation through automatically generated word recommendations. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:7939-7962. [PMID: 39014108 PMCID: PMC11362362 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-024-02463-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Creative block is a familiar foe to any who attempt to create and is especially related to "writers block". While significant effort has been focused on developing methods to break such blocks, it remains an active challenge. Here, we focus on the role of semantic memory structure in driving creative block, by having people get "stuck" in a certain part of their semantic memory network. We directly examine whether we can "pull out" a participant from where they got "stuck" in their semantic memory, breaking their creative impasse. Our Associative Creativity Sparker (ACS) is a cognitive network science-based online tool that aims to spark creative ideas and break creative impasse: Once a participant runs out of ideas in a creative idea generation task, word recommendations are suggested to prime new ideas. These word recommendations are either towards or away from previous ideas, as well as close or far from the target object, based on a conceptual space extracted from the participants responses using online text analysis. In Study 1, 121 participants use the ACS to generate creative alternative uses for five different objects and completed creativity and Gf tasks. In Study 2, we repeat the design of Study 1, but further examine the impact of writing experience on the ACS, by examining 120 novice and 120 experienced writers. Across both studies, our results indicate that the location of word recommendations affects the fluency and originality of one's ideas, and that novice and experienced writers differently benefit from these word recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia A Wise
- Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Information Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003, Haifa, Israel.
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2
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Robinson MM, DeStefano IC, Vul E, Brady TF. Local but not global graph theoretic measures of semantic networks generalize across tasks. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:5279-5308. [PMID: 38017203 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02271-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
"Dogs" are connected to "cats" in our minds, and "backyard" to "outdoors." Does the structure of this semantic knowledge differ across people? Network-based approaches are a popular representational scheme for thinking about how relations between different concepts are organized. Recent research uses graph theoretic analyses to examine individual differences in semantic networks for simple concepts and how they relate to other higher-level cognitive processes, such as creativity. However, it remains ambiguous whether individual differences captured via network analyses reflect true differences in measures of the structure of semantic knowledge, or differences in how people strategically approach semantic relatedness tasks. To test this, we examine the reliability of local and global metrics of semantic networks for simple concepts across different semantic relatedness tasks. In four experiments, we find that both weighted and unweighted graph theoretic representations reliably capture individual differences in local measures of semantic networks (e.g., how related pot is to pan versus lion). In contrast, we find that metrics of global structural properties of semantic networks, such as the average clustering coefficient and shortest path length, are less robust across tasks and may not provide reliable individual difference measures of how people represent simple concepts. We discuss the implications of these results and offer recommendations for researchers who seek to apply graph theoretic analyses in the study of individual differences in semantic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria M Robinson
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | | | - Edward Vul
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Timothy F Brady
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
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3
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Zioga I, Kenett YN, Giannopoulos A, Luft CDB. The role of alpha oscillations in free- and goal-directed semantic associations. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26770. [PMID: 38970217 PMCID: PMC11226545 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Alpha oscillations are known to play a central role in several higher-order cognitive functions, especially selective attention, working memory, semantic memory, and creative thinking. Nonetheless, we still know very little about the role of alpha in the generation of more remote semantic associations, which is key to creative and semantic cognition. Furthermore, it remains unclear how these oscillations are shaped by the intention to "be creative," which is the case in most creativity tasks. We aimed to address these gaps in two experiments. In Experiment 1, we compared alpha oscillatory activity (using a method which distinguishes genuine oscillatory activity from transient events) during the generation of free associations which were more vs. less distant from a given concept. In Experiment 2, we replicated these findings and also compared alpha oscillatory activity when people were generating free associations versus associations with the instruction to be creative (i.e. goal-directed). We found that alpha was consistently higher during the generation of more distant semantic associations, in both experiments. This effect was widespread, involving areas in both left and right hemispheres. Importantly, the instruction to be creative seems to increase alpha phase synchronisation from left to right temporal brain areas, suggesting that intention to be creative changed the flux of information in the brain, likely reflecting an increase in top-down control of semantic search processes. We conclude that goal-directed generation of remote associations relies on top-down mechanisms compared to when associations are freely generated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioanna Zioga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Yoed N. Kenett
- Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion—Israel Institute of TechnologyHaifaIsrael
| | - Anastasios Giannopoulos
- School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringNational Technical University of Athens (NTUA) AthensAthensGreece
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4
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Herault C, Ovando-Tellez M, Lebuda I, Kenett YN, Beranger B, Benedek M, Volle E. Creative connections: the neural correlates of semantic relatedness are associated with creativity. Commun Biol 2024; 7:810. [PMID: 38961130 PMCID: PMC11222432 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06493-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The associative theory of creativity proposes that creative ideas result from connecting remotely related concepts in memory. Previous research found that higher creative individuals exhibit a more flexible organization of semantic memory, generate more uncommon word associations, and judge remote concepts as more related. In this study (N = 93), we used fMRI to investigate brain regions involved in judging the relatedness of concepts that vary in their semantic distance, and how such neural involvement relates to individual differences in creativity. Brain regions where activity increased with semantic relatedness mainly overlapped with default, control, salience, semantic control, and multiple demand networks. The default and semantic control networks exhibited increased involvement when evaluating more remote associations. Finally, higher creative people, who provided higher relatedness judgements on average, exhibited lower activity in those regions, possibly reflecting higher neural efficiency. We discuss these findings in the context of the neurocognitive processing underlying creativity. Overall, our findings indicate that judging remote concepts as related reflects a cognitive mechanism underlying creativity and shed light on the neural correlates of this mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Herault
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France.
| | - Marcela Ovando-Tellez
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Izabela Lebuda
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- The Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Benoit Beranger
- Sorbonne University, CENIR at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France
| | | | - Emmanuelle Volle
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France.
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5
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Zemla JC, Gooding DC, Austerweil JL. Evidence for optimal semantic search throughout adulthood. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22528. [PMID: 38110643 PMCID: PMC10728182 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49858-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
As people age, they learn and store new knowledge in their semantic memory. Despite learning a tremendous amount of information, people can still recall information relevant to the current situation with ease. To accomplish this, the mind must efficiently organize and search a vast store of information. It also must continue to retrieve information effectively despite changes in cognitive mechanisms due to healthy aging, including a general slowing in information processing and a decline in executive functioning. How effectively does the mind of an individual adjust its search to account for changes due to aging? We tested 746 people ages 25 through 69 on a semantic fluency task (free listing animals) and found that, on average, retrieval follows an optimal path through semantic memory. Participants tended to list a sequence of semantically related animals (e.g., lion, tiger, puma) before switching to a semantically unrelated animal (e.g., whale). We found that the timing of these transitions to semantically unrelated animals was remarkably consistent with an optimal strategy for maximizing the overall rate of retrieval (i.e., the number of animals listed per unit time). Age did not affect an individual's deviation from the optimal strategy given their general performance, suggesting that people adapt and continue to search memory optimally throughout their lives. We argue that this result is more likely due to compensating for a general slowing than a decline in executive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey C Zemla
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
| | - Diane C Gooding
- Department of Psychology, College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, SMPH, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology and Geriatrics, SMPH, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Joseph L Austerweil
- Department of Psychology, College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Lundin NB, Brown JW, Johns BT, Jones MN, Purcell JR, Hetrick WP, O’Donnell BF, Todd PM. Neural evidence of switch processes during semantic and phonetic foraging in human memory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2312462120. [PMID: 37824523 PMCID: PMC10589708 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312462120] [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] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans may retrieve words from memory by exploring and exploiting in "semantic space" similar to how nonhuman animals forage for resources in physical space. This has been studied using the verbal fluency test (VFT), in which participants generate words belonging to a semantic or phonetic category in a limited time. People produce bursts of related items during VFT, referred to as "clustering" and "switching." The strategic foraging model posits that cognitive search behavior is guided by a monitoring process which detects relevant declines in performance and then triggers the searcher to seek a new patch or cluster in memory after the current patch has been depleted. An alternative body of research proposes that this behavior can be explained by an undirected rather than strategic search process, such as random walks with or without random jumps to new parts of semantic space. This study contributes to this theoretical debate by testing for neural evidence of strategically timed switches during memory search. Thirty participants performed category and letter VFT during functional MRI. Responses were classified as cluster or switch events based on computational metrics of similarity and participant evaluations. Results showed greater hippocampal and posterior cerebellar activation during switching than clustering, even while controlling for interresponse times and linguistic distance. Furthermore, these regions exhibited ramping activity which increased during within-patch search leading up to switches. Findings support the strategic foraging model, clarifying how neural switch processes may guide memory search in a manner akin to foraging in patchy spatial environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy B. Lundin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
| | - Joshua W. Brown
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
| | - Brendan T. Johns
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QCH3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Michael N. Jones
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
| | - John R. Purcell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ08854
| | - William P. Hetrick
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN46202
| | - Brian F. O’Donnell
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN46202
| | - Peter M. Todd
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
- Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN47405
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Marko M, Michalko D, Dragašek J, Vančová Z, Jarčušková D, Riečanský I. Assessment of Automatic and Controlled Retrieval Using Verbal Fluency Tasks. Assessment 2023; 30:2198-2211. [PMID: 35979927 PMCID: PMC10478347 DOI: 10.1177/10731911221117512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Category and letter verbal fluency assessment is widely used in basic and clinical research. Yet, the nature of the processes measured by such means remains a matter of debate. To delineate automatic (free-associative) versus controlled (dissociative) retrieval processes involved in verbal fluency tasks, we carried out a psychometric study combining a novel lexical-semantic retrieval paradigm and structural equation modeling. We show that category fluency primarily engages a free-associative retrieval, whereas letter fluency exerts executive suppression of habitual semantic associates. Importantly, the models demonstrated that this dissociation is parametric rather than absolute, exhibiting a degree of unity as well as diversity among the retrieval measures. These findings and further exploratory analyses validate that category and letter fluency tasks reflect partially distinct forms of memory search and retrieval control, warranting different application in basic research and clinical assessment. Finally, we conclude that the novel associative-dissociative paradigm provides straightforward and useful behavioral measures for the assessment and differentiation of automatic versus controlled retrieval ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Marko
- Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Drahomír Michalko
- Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | | | | | | | - Igor Riečanský
- Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
- University of Vienna, Austria
- Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Slovakia
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8
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Beaty RE, Kenett YN. Associative thinking at the core of creativity. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:671-683. [PMID: 37246025 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Creativity has long been thought to involve associative processes in memory: connecting concepts to form ideas, inventions, and artworks. However, associative thinking has been difficult to study due to limitations in modeling memory structure and retrieval processes. Recent advances in computational models of semantic memory allow researchers to examine how people navigate a semantic space of concepts when forming associations, revealing key search strategies associated with creativity. Here, we synthesize cognitive, computational, and neuroscience research on creativity and associative thinking. This Review highlights distinctions between free- and goal-directed association, illustrates the role of associative thinking in the arts, and links associative thinking to brain systems supporting both semantic and episodic memory - offering a new perspective on a longstanding creativity theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger E Beaty
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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9
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Michalko D, Marko M, Riečanský I. Response modularity moderates how executive control aids fluent semantic memory retrieval. Memory 2023:1-8. [PMID: 36945859 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2023.2191902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACTEmerging work in semantic cognition has begun to elucidate the interaction between the structure of semantic memory and processes mediating goal-directed memory retrieval. Despite having essential implications for basic and applied research, these objectives remain neglected in both the assessment and interpretation of semantic verbal fluency (SVF) tasks. To test the association between semantic structure and the controlled processes underlying verbal fluency, we assessed how the degree of partitioning (modularity) of SVF responses into semantic clusters moderates the relationship of retrieval fluency with working memory and interference control capacities. We found that working memory capacity predicted retrieval fluency in individuals whose SVF responses were arranged in fine-grained semantic clusters (high modularity), whereas interference control was more predictive of retrieval fluency for individuals who delivered responses of low modularity. Our data support the presumed role of working memory and interference control in SVF and provide novel evidence that relative demands on these capacities are predicted by the organisation of semantic knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drahomír Michalko
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Martin Marko
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Igor Riečanský
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
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10
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Michalko D, Marko M, Riečanský I. Executive functioning moderates the decline of retrieval fluency in time. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:397-409. [PMID: 35467164 PMCID: PMC11189984 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01680-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Prevailing theoretical accounts consider that automatic and controlled processes are uniformly engaged in memory retrieval across performance of the semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task. We tested this proposal against the alternative, namely that a rapid automatic retrieval, exploiting stable associative structure in the early stages of the performance, is followed by a slower, more executively demanding, retrieval in later stages. Eighty-five healthy adults completed low- and high-demand SVF tasks that were assessed for retrieval rate, response typicality, and inter-response similarity across the performance. Additional measures of executive functioning were collected to estimate individual differences in executive control. We found that decrease in fluency in time was associated with lower typicality and weaker semantic similarity of the responses. Critically, the time-dependent retrieval slowing was steeper in individuals with less efficient interference control, particularly in high-demand SVF tasks. Steeper retrieval slowing was also associated with poorer working-memory capacity. Our findings show that the relative contribution of automatic and controlled processes to semantic retrieval changes with associative sparsity over time and across task demands, and provide implications for the use of SVF tasks in clinical assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drahomír Michalko
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 813 71, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Martin Marko
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 813 71, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská Dolina F1, 842 48, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Igor Riečanský
- Department of Behavioural Neuroscience, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewiczova 1, 813 71, Bratislava, Slovakia.
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, 1010, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Limbová 12, 833 03, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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11
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Differential effects of executive load on automatic versus controlled semantic memory retrieval. Mem Cognit 2023:10.3758/s13421-022-01388-x. [PMID: 36650348 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01388-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that a domain-general executive control supports semantic memory retrieval, yet the nature of this interaction remains elusive. To shed light on such control mechanisms, we conducted two dual-task experiments loading distinct executive capacities (working memory maintenance, monitoring, and switching), while participants carried out automatic (free-associative) and controlled (dissociative) word retrieval tasks. We found that these forms of executive load interfered with retrieval fluency in both tasks, but these negative effects were more pronounced for the dissociative performance. Together, these findings indicate that the domain-general executive control supports accessing contextually relevant knowledge as well as the inhibition of automatically activated but task-inappropriate retrieval candidates, putatively via an adaptive gating of semantic activation and interference control. Moreover, the processing costs related to retrieval inhibition and switching were negatively correlated, suggesting a trade-off between the ability to constrain semantic activation (i.e., inhibition) and the ability to initiate flexible transitions between semantic sets (i.e., switching), which may thus represent two complementary control functions governing semantic memory retrieval.
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12
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Socher M, Löfkvist U, Wass M. Comparing the semantic networks of children with cochlear implants and children with typical hearing: Effects of length of language access. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2022; 99:106247. [PMID: 35843069 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2022.106247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Kenett et al. (2013) report that the sematic networks, measured by using an oral semantic fluency task, of children with cochlear implants (CI) are less structured compared to the sematic networks of children with typical hearing (TH). This study aims to evaluate if such differences are only evident if children with CI are compared to children with TH matched on chronological age, or also if they are compared to children with TH matched on hearing age. METHOD The performance of a group of children with CI on a verbal fluency task was compared to the performance of a group of chronological-age matched children with TH. Subsequently, computational network analysis was used to compare the semantic network structure of the groups. The same procedure was applied to compare a group of children with CI to a group of hearing-age matched children with TH. RESULTS The children with CI perform on the same level on an oral semantic verbal fluency task as the children with TH matched on hearing age. There are significant differences in terms of the structure of the semantic network between the groups. The magnitude of these differences is very small and they are non-significant for a proportion of nodes included in the bootstrap analysis. This indicates that there is no true difference between the networks. Hearing age, but not age at implantation was found to be significantly positively correlated with semantic verbal fluency performance for the children with CI. CONCLUSIONS The results from the current study indicate that length of exposure to the tested language is an important factor for the structure of the semantic network and the performance on a semantic verbal fluency task for children with CI. Further studies are needed to explore the role of the accessibility of the language input for the development of semantic networks of children with CI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Socher
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, Institute Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Ulrika Löfkvist
- Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Malin Wass
- Department of Health, Learning and Technology, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden
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13
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Sailer MHM, Georgiev Y, Mitov G, Guentchev M. A memory-based structural model for knowledge management and transfer. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH & PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/14778238.2021.2015263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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14
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Ovando-Tellez M, Benedek M, Kenett YN, Hills T, Bouanane S, Bernard M, Belo J, Bieth T, Volle E. An investigation of the cognitive and neural correlates of semantic memory search related to creative ability. Commun Biol 2022; 5:604. [PMID: 35710948 PMCID: PMC9203494 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03547-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Creative ideas likely result from searching and combining semantic memory knowledge, yet the mechanisms acting on memory to yield creative ideas remain unclear. Here, we identified the neurocognitive correlates of semantic search components related to creative abilities. We designed an associative fluency task based on polysemous words and distinguished two search components related to clustering and switching between the different meanings of the polysemous words. Clustering correlated with divergent thinking, while switching correlated with the ability to combine remote associates. Furthermore, switching correlated with semantic memory structure and executive abilities, and was predicted by connectivity between the default, control, and salience neural networks. In contrast, clustering relied on interactions between control, salience, and attentional neural networks. Our results suggest that switching captures interactions between memory structure and control processes guiding the search whereas clustering may capture attentional controlled processes for persistent search, and that alternations between exploratory search and focused attention support creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Ovando-Tellez
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France.
| | | | - Yoed N Kenett
- Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Thomas Hills
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Sarah Bouanane
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Matthieu Bernard
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Joan Belo
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Theophile Bieth
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France
- Neurology Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, AP-HP, F-75013, Paris, France
| | - Emmanuelle Volle
- Sorbonne University, FrontLab at Paris Brain Institute (ICM), INSERM, CNRS, 75013, Paris, France.
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Beaty RE, Kenett YN, Hass RW, Schacter DL. Semantic Memory and Creativity: The Costs and Benefits of Semantic Memory Structure in Generating Original Ideas. THINKING & REASONING 2022; 29:305-339. [PMID: 37113618 PMCID: PMC10128864 DOI: 10.1080/13546783.2022.2076742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite its theoretical importance, little is known about how semantic memory structure facilitates and constrains creative idea production. We examine whether the semantic richness of a concept has both benefits and costs to creative idea production. Specifically, we tested whether cue set-size-an index of semantic richness reflecting the average number of elements associated with a given concept-impacts the quantity (fluency) and quality (originality) of responses generated during the alternate uses task (AUT). Across four studies, we show that low-association, sparse, AUT cues benefit originality at the cost of fluency compared to high-association, rich, AUT cues. Furthermore, we found an interaction with individual differences in fluid intelligence in the low-association AUT cues, suggesting that constraints of sparse semantic knowledge can be overcome with top-down intervention. The findings indicate that semantic richness differentially impacts the quality and quantity of generated ideas, and that cognitive control processes can facilitate idea production when conceptual knowledge is limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger E Beaty
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- William Davidson Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
| | - Richard W Hass
- Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
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