Synchronised neural signature of creative mental imagery in reality and augmented reality

Creativity, transforming imaginative thinking into reality, is a mental imagery simulation in essence. It can be incorporeal, concerns sophisticated and/or substantial thinking, and involves objects. In the present study, a mental imagery task consisting of creating a scene using familiar (FA) or abstract (AB) physical or virtual objects in real (RMI) and augmented reality (VMI) environments, and an execution task involving effectively creating a scene in augmented reality (VE), were utilised. The beta and gamma neural oscillations of healthy participants were recorded via a 32 channel wireless 10/20 international EGG system. In real and augmented environments and for both the mental imagery and execution tasks, the participants displayed a similar cortico-cortical neural signature essentially based on synchronous vs asynchronous beta and gamma oscillatory activities between anterior (i.e. frontal) and posterior (i.e. parietal, occipito-parietal and occipito-temporal) areas bilaterally. The findings revealed a transient synchronised neural architecture that appears to be consistent with the hypothesis according to which, creativity, because of its inherent complexity, cannot be confined to a single brain area but engages various interconnected networks.

Functional neuroimaging of visual creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

The generation of creative visual imagery contributes to technological and scientific innovation and production of visual art. The underlying cognitive and neural processes are, however, poorly understood.

METHODS

This review synthesizes functional neuroimaging studies of visual creativity. Seven functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and 19 electroencephalography (EEG) studies were included, comprising 27 experiments and around 800 participants.

RESULTS

Activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of the fMRI studies comparing visual creativity to non-rest control tasks yielded significant clusters in thalamus, left fusiform gyrus, and right middle and inferior frontal gyri. The EEG studies revealed a tendency for decreased alpha power during visual creativity compared to baseline, but comparisons of visual creativity to non-rest control tasks revealed inconsistent findings.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings are consistent with suggested contributions to visual creativity of prefrontally mediated inhibition, evaluation, and working memory, as well as visual imagery processes. Findings are discussed in relation to prominent theories of the neural basis of creativity.

Neuroimaging creativity: a psychometric view

Many studies of creative cognition with a neuroimaging component now exist; what do they say about where and how creativity arises in the brain? We reviewed 45 brain-imaging studies of creative cognition. We found little clear evidence of overlap in their results. Nearly as many different tests were used as there were studies; this test diversity makes it impossible to interpret the different findings across studies with any confidence. Our conclusion is that creativity research would benefit from psychometrically informed revision, and the addition of neuroimaging methods designed to provide greater spatial localization of function. Without such revision in the behavioral measures and study designs, it is hard to see the benefit of imaging. We set out eight suggestions in a manifesto for taking creativity research forward.