Influence of Training in Artistic Skills on Mental Imaging Capacity

A Positive Relationship Between Sign Language Comprehension and Mental Rotation Abilities

Past work investigating spatial cognition suggests better mental rotation abilities for those who are fluent in a signed language. However, no prior work has assessed whether fluency is needed to achieve this performance benefit or what it may look like on the neurobiological level. We conducted an electroencephalography experiment and assessed accuracy on a classic mental rotation task given to deaf fluent signers, hearing fluent signers, hearing non-fluent signers, and hearing non-signers. Two of the main findings of the study are as follows: (1) Sign language comprehension and mental rotation abilities are positively correlated and (2) Behavioral performance differences between signers and non-signers are not clearly reflected in brain activity typically associated with mental rotation. In addition, we propose that the robust impact sign language appears to have on mental rotation abilities strongly suggests that "sign language use" should be added to future measures of spatial experiences.

Art Training in Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives

The present study explores the effect of visual art training on people with dementia, utilizing a randomized control trial design, in order to investigate the effects of an 8-week visual art training program on cognition. In particular, the study examines overall cognition, delayed recall, and working memory, which show deficits in people with dementia.

Method

Fifty-three individuals with dementia were randomly assigned into either an art training (n = 27) or usual-activity waitlist control group (n = 26). Overall cognition and delayed recall were assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and working memory was assessed with the Backward Digit Span task.

Results

There were no group differences in overall cognition, or working memory, while a difference in delayed recall was undetermined, based on post-test—pre-test difference scores. Groups were comparable at baseline on all measures.

Conclusion

The measures of cognition, delayed recall, and working memory used in this study were not affected by an 8-week visual art training program.

Clinical Trial Registration

www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03175822.

Domain-Specificity of Creativity: A Study on the Relationship Between Visual Creativity and Visual Mental Imagery

Creativity refers to the capability to catch original and valuable ideas and solutions. It involves different processes. In this study the extent to which visual creativity is related to cognitive processes underlying visual mental imagery was investigated. Fifty college students (25 women) carried out: the Creative Synthesis Task, which measures the ability to produce creative objects belonging to a given category (originality, synthesis and transformation scores of pre-inventive forms, and originality and practicality scores of inventions were computed); an adaptation of Clark’s Drawing Ability Test, which measures the ability to produce actual creative artworks (graphic ability, esthetic, and creativity scores of drawings were assessed) and three mental imagery tasks that investigate the three main cognitive processes involved in visual mental imagery: generation, inspection and transformation. Vividness of imagery and verbalizer–visualizer cognitive style were also measured using questionnaires. Correlation analysis revealed that all measures of the creativity tasks positively correlated with the image transformation imagery ability; practicality of inventions negatively correlated with vividness of imagery; originality of inventions positively correlated with the visualization cognitive style. However, regression analysis confirmed the predictive role of the transformation imagery ability only for the originality score of inventions and for the graphic ability and esthetic scores of artistic drawings; on the other hand, the visualization cognitive style predicted the originality of inventions, whereas the vividness of imagery predicted practicality of inventions. These results are consistent with the notion that visual creativity is domain- and task-specific.