1
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Khalil R, Demarin V. Creative therapy in health and disease: Inner vision. CNS Neurosci Ther 2024; 30:e14266. [PMID: 37305955 PMCID: PMC10915997 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Can we better understand the unique mechanisms of de novo abilities in light of our current knowledge of the psychological and neuroscientific literature on creativity? This review outlines the state-of-the-art in the neuroscience of creativity and points out crucial aspects that still demand further exploration, such as brain plasticity. The progressive development of current neuroscience research on creativity presents a multitude of prospects and potentials for furnishing efficacious therapy in the context of health and illness. Therefore, we discuss directions for future studies, identifying a focus on pinpointing the neglected beneficial practices for creative therapy. We emphasize the neglected neuroscience perspective of creativity on health and disease and how creative therapy could offer limitless possibilities to improve our well-being and give hope to patients with neurodegenerative diseases to compensate for their brain injuries and cognitive impairments by expressing their hidden creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radwa Khalil
- School of Business, Social and Decision SciencesConstructor UniversityBremenGermany
| | - Vida Demarin
- International Institute for Brain HealthZagrebCroatia
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2
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Ganter-Argast C, Schipper M, Shamsrizi M, Stein C, Khalil R. The light side of gaming: creativity and brain plasticity. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 17:1280989. [PMID: 38249576 PMCID: PMC10796710 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1280989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Could gaming enhance brain plasticity and executive functions (EFs) by fostering creativity? We identify vital benefits from further research exploring the relationship between games, brain plasticity, and creativity. The ongoing progress in neuroscience research in these three disciplines offers many possibilities and prospects for impactful therapy. Therefore, we emphasize the significance of investigating the untapped potentials of using games in creative therapy-our perspective on the often-overlooked neuroscientific aspect of creativity concerning health and wellbeing. One of these potentials is examining games as a therapeutic tool, focusing on their capacity to inspire and engage the imagination and other mental operators shared with creativity. Using a game as a therapeutic approach may boost brain plasticity, which may help them reduce their cognitive impairments by improving their EFs. This review offers a comprehensive outline of the latest advancements in the literature on games that tie to creativity through enhancing brain plasticity and EFs. Communicating this knowledge can furnish countless possibilities to improve our overall health and wellbeing and foster a positive perspective in individuals affected by anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiane Ganter-Argast
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- University of Applied Sciences, Nürtingen-Geislingen, Nürtingen, Germany
| | - Marc Schipper
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Ottersberg, Germany
- Institute for Psychology, Arts, and Society, Bremen, Germany
| | - Manouchehr Shamsrizi
- IFA – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart, Germany
- Excellence Cluster Matters of Activity / Gamelab.Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Stein
- Excellence Cluster Matters of Activity / Gamelab.Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Radwa Khalil
- School of Business, Social, and Decision Sciences, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
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3
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Khalil R, Agnoli S, Mastria S, Kondinska A, Karim AA, Godde B. Individual differences and creative ideation: neuromodulatory signatures of mindset and response inhibition. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1238165. [PMID: 38125402 PMCID: PMC10731982 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1238165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
This study addresses the modulatory role of individual mindset in explaining the relationship between response inhibition (RI) and divergent thinking (DT) using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Forty undergraduate students (22 male and 18 female), aged between 18 and 23 years (average age = 19 years, SD = 1.48), were recruited. Participants received either anodal tDCS of the right IFG coupled with cathodal tDCS of the left IFG (R + L-; N = 19) or the opposite coupling (R-L+; N = 21). We tested DT performance using the alternative uses task (AUT), measuring participants' fluency, originality, and flexibility in the response production, as well as participants' mindsets. Furthermore, we applied a go-no-go task to examine the role of RI before and after stimulating the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) using tDCS. The results showed that the mindset levels acted as moderators on stimulation conditions and enhanced RI on AUT fluency and flexibility but not originality. Intriguingly, growth mindsets have opposite moderating effects on the change in DT, resulting from the tDCS stimulation of the left and the right IFG, with reduced fluency but enhanced flexibility. Our findings imply that understanding neural modulatory signatures of ideational processes with tDCS strongly benefits from evaluating cognitive status and control functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radwa Khalil
- School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
| | - Sergio Agnoli
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
- Marconi Institute for Creativity, Sasso Marconi, Italy
| | - Serena Mastria
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Angela Kondinska
- School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ahmed A. Karim
- School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Health Psychology and Neurorehabilitation, SRH Mobile University, Riedlingen, Germany
| | - Ben Godde
- School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
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4
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Kenett YN, Humphries S, Chatterjee A. A Thirst for Knowledge: Grounding Curiosity, Creativity, and Aesthetics in Memory and Reward Neural Systems. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2023.2165748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yoed N. Kenett
- Technion - Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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5
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Yin Y, Wang P, Childs PRN. Understanding creativity process through electroencephalography measurement on creativity-related cognitive factors. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:951272. [PMID: 36532268 PMCID: PMC9748076 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.951272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Neurotechnology approaches, such as electroencephalography (EEG), can aid understanding of the cognitive processes behind creativity. Methods To identify and compare the EEG characteristics of creativity-related cognitive factors (remote association, common association, combination, recall, and retrieval), 30 participants were recruited to conduct an EEG induction study. Results From the event-related potential (ERP) results and spectral analysis, the study supports that creativity is related to the frontal lobe areas of the brain and common association is an unconscious process. Discussion The results help explain why some creativity-related cognitive factors are involved either more or less readily than others in the creative design process from workload aspects. This study identifies the part of the brain that is involved in the combination cognitive factor and detects the ERP results on cognitive factors. This study can be used by designers and researchers to further understand the cognitive processes of creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Yin
- Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Pan Wang
- School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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6
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Childs P, Han J, Chen L, Jiang P, Wang P, Park D, Yin Y, Dieckmann E, Vilanova I. The Creativity Diamond—A Framework to Aid Creativity. J Intell 2022; 10:jintelligence10040073. [PMID: 36278595 PMCID: PMC9590016 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence10040073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
There are many facets to creativity, and the topic has a profound impact on society. Substantial and sustained study on creativity has been undertaken, and much is now known about the fundamentals and how creativity can be augmented. To draw these elements together, a framework was developed called the creativity diamond, formulated on the basis of reviews of prior work, as well as the consideration of 20 PhD studies on the topics of creativity, design, innovation, and product development. The framework embodies the principles that quantity of ideas breeds quality through selection, and that a range of creativity tools can provoke additional ideas to augment our innate creativity. The creativity diamond proposed is a tool consisting of a divergent phase associated with the development of many distinctive ideas and a convergent phase associated with the refinement of ideas. The creativity diamond framework can be used to prompt and help select which tool or approach to use in a creative environment for innovative tasks. The framework has now been used by many students and professionals in diverse contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Childs
- Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Ji Han
- Department of Management, Business School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PU, UK
| | - Liuqing Chen
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Pingfei Jiang
- School of Engineering and the Environment, Kingston University, London SW15 3DW, UK
| | - Pan Wang
- School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Dongmyung Park
- Division of Design, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Korea
| | - Yuan Yin
- Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Elena Dieckmann
- Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Ignacio Vilanova
- Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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7
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Yang W, Green AE, Chen Q, Kenett YN, Sun J, Wei D, Qiu J. Creative problem solving in knowledge-rich contexts. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:849-859. [PMID: 35868956 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Creative problem solving (CPS) in real-world contexts often relies on reorganization of existing knowledge to serve new, problem-relevant functions. However, classic creativity paradigms that minimize knowledge content are generally used to investigate creativity, including CPS. We argue that CPS research should expand consideration of knowledge-rich problem contexts, both in novices and experts within specific domains. In particular, paradigms focusing on creative analogical transfer of knowledge may reflect CPS skills that are applicable to real-world problem solving. Such paradigms have begun to provide process-level insights into cognitive and neural characteristics of knowledge-rich CPS and point to multiple avenues for fruitfully expanding inquiry into the role of crystalized knowledge in creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Yang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Qunlin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jiangzhou Sun
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Dongtao Wei
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Jiang Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China.
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8
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A neurocomputational model of creative processes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 137:104656. [PMID: 35430189 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2021] [Revised: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Creativity is associated with finding novel, surprising, and useful solutions. We argue that creative cognitive processes, divergent thinking, abstraction, and improvisation are constructed on different novelty-based processes. The prefrontal cortex plays a role in creative ideation by providing a control mechanism. Moreover, thinking about novel solutions activates the distant or loosely connected neurons of a semantic network that involves the hippocampus. Novelty can also be interpreted as different combinations of earlier learned processes, such as the motor sequencing mechanism of the basal ganglia. In addition, the cerebellum is responsible for the precise control of movements, which is particularly important in improvisation. Our neurocomputational perspective is based on three creative processes centered on novelty seeking, subserved by the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and dopamine. The algorithmic implementation of our model would enable us to describe commonalities and differences between these creative processes based on the proposed neural circuitry. Given that most previous studies have mainly provided theoretical and conceptual models of creativity, this article presents the first brain-inspired neural network model of creative cognition.
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9
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Hohol M, Wołoszyn K, Brożek B. Making Cognitive Niches Explicit: On the Importance of External Cognitive Representations in Accounting for Cumulative Culture. Front Integr Neurosci 2021; 15:734930. [PMID: 34776886 PMCID: PMC8579038 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2021.734930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative transmission and innovation are the hallmark properties of the cultural achievements of human beings. Cognitive scientists have traditionally explained these properties in terms of social learning and creativity. The non-social cognitive dimension of cumulative culture, the so-called technical reasoning, has also been accounted for recently. These explanatory perspectives are methodologically individualistic since they frame cumulative and innovative culture in terms of the processing of inner cognitive representations. Here we show that going beyond methodological individualism could facilitate an understanding of why some inventions are disseminated in a stable form and constitute the basis for further modifications. Drawing on three cases of cognitive history of prominent achievements of Antiquity, i.e., Homerian epics, Euclidean geometry, and Roman law, we investigate which properties of cognitive artifacts shaped cognitive niches for modifying original cognitive tasks or developing new ones. These niches both constrained and enabled the cognitive skills of humans to promote cumulative culture and further innovations. At the same time, we claim that "wide cognition," incorporating both intracranial resources and external cognitive representations, constitutes a platform for building explanations of cognitive phenomena developing over a historical time scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateusz Hohol
- Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Kinga Wołoszyn
- Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Bartosz Brożek
- Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.,Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
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10
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Abraham A, Rutter B, Hermann C. Conceptual expansion via novel metaphor processing: An ERP replication and extension study examining individual differences in creativity. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 221:105007. [PMID: 34416539 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.105007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The aims of the present ERP study were twofold. First, to determine whether a previous study on creative cognition could be replicated, and second, to extend these findings by examining individual differences in creativity. Conceptual expansion, a capacity that is central to creativity, was induced via the processing of novel metaphors. Brain activity patterns in relation to these were compared to the processing of literal and nonsense phrases. The previous findings were replicated in that the N400, known for its sensitivity to semantic anomalies, indexed the originality of the phrases, while a post-N400 late component (LC), which is linked to semantic integration processes, indexed the appropriateness of the phrases. Moreover, only the LC was significantly sensitive to individual differences in creativity in the processing of these phrases. Differences at the level of semantic integration processes as well as the structure of knowledge organization are thereby implicated in individual differences in creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Abraham
- Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Department of Educational Psychology, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | - Barbara Rutter
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - Christiane Hermann
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
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11
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Nikolai T, Sulc Z, Balcar K, Kuška M, Plzakova V, Slavickova T, Trnka R. Decreased emotional creativity and its relationship with cognitive functions in Parkinson's disease: A preliminary study. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY-ADULT 2021; 29:1484-1491. [PMID: 33689541 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1891901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) suffer from a wide range of non-motor symptoms, including cognitive deficits and impairment of emotional processing. The present study aimed to explore in PD patients compared to healthy adults the relationship between cognitive performance and emotional creativity (EC), defined as a set of cognitive abilities and personality traits related to originality and appropriateness of emotional experience. PD patients (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 40) underwent a complex neuropsychological assessment and were administrated with the self-reported Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI) questionnaire. To explore the relationship between cognitive tests and the ECI, a regression analysis was conducted. PD patients and healthy controls differed significantly in the EC component Preparedness as well as in the neuropsychological test battery scores. PD patients showed lower scores in cognitive tests and a lower score in Preparedness compared to healthy adults. The output of the regression analysis showed that the extent to which the neuropsychological tests relate to the ECI components is low.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Nikolai
- Science and Research Department, Prague College of Psychosocial Studies, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zdenek Sulc
- Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Balcar
- Science and Research Department, Prague College of Psychosocial Studies, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Kuška
- Science and Research Department, Prague College of Psychosocial Studies, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Danube University Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria
| | - Vladimira Plzakova
- Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tereza Slavickova
- Science and Research Department, Prague College of Psychosocial Studies, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Trnka
- Science and Research Department, Prague College of Psychosocial Studies, Prague, Czech Republic.,Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacky University Olomouc (OUSHI), Olomouc, Czech Republic
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12
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Patil AU, Ghate S, Madathil D, Tzeng OJL, Huang HW, Huang CM. Static and dynamic functional connectivity supports the configuration of brain networks associated with creative cognition. Sci Rep 2021; 11:165. [PMID: 33420212 PMCID: PMC7794287 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80293-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Creative cognition is recognized to involve the integration of multiple spontaneous cognitive processes and is manifested as complex networks within and between the distributed brain regions. We propose that the processing of creative cognition involves the static and dynamic re-configuration of brain networks associated with complex cognitive processes. We applied the sliding-window approach followed by a community detection algorithm and novel measures of network flexibility on the blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal of 8 major functional brain networks to reveal static and dynamic alterations in the network reconfiguration during creative cognition using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our results demonstrate the temporal connectivity of the dynamic large-scale creative networks between default mode network (DMN), salience network, and cerebellar network during creative cognition, and advance our understanding of the network neuroscience of creative cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek Uday Patil
- Department of Sensor and Biomedical Technology, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-Devices (IDS2B), National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Sejal Ghate
- Department of Sensor and Biomedical Technology, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Deepa Madathil
- Department of Sensor and Biomedical Technology, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ovid J L Tzeng
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-Devices (IDS2B), National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Hsu-Wen Huang
- Department of Linguistics and Translation, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Chih-Mao Huang
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
- Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-Devices (IDS2B), National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
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13
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Wu HY, Kuo BC, Huang CM, Tsai PJ, Hsu AL, Hsu LM, Liu CY, Chen JH, Wu CW. Think Hard or Think Smart: Network Reconfigurations After Divergent Thinking Associate With Creativity Performance. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:571118. [PMID: 33328929 PMCID: PMC7714934 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.571118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence suggests divergent thinking is the cognitive basis of creative thoughts. Neuroimaging literature using resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) has revealed network reorganizations during divergent thinking. Recent studies have revealed the changes of network organizations when performing creativity tasks, but such brain reconfigurations may be prolonged after task and be modulated by the trait of creativity. To investigate the dynamic reconfiguration, 40 young participants were recruited to perform consecutive Alternative Uses Tasks (AUTs) for divergent thinking and two resting-state scans (before and after AUT) were used for mapping the brain reorganizations after AUT. We split participants into high- and low-creative groups based on creative achievement questionnaire (CAQ) and targeted on reconfigurations of the two brain networks: (1) default-mode network (DMN) and (2) the network seeded at the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) because the between-group difference of AUT-induced brain activation located at the left IFG. The changes of post-AUT RSFCs (DMN and IFGN) indicated the prolonged effect of divergent thinking. More specifically, the alterations of RSFCIFG−AG and RSFCIFG−IPL (AG: angular gyrus, IPG: inferior parietal lobule) in the high-creative group had positive relationship with their AUT performances (originality and fluency), but not found in the low-creative group. Furthermore, the RSFC changes of DMN did not present significant relationships with AUT performances. The findings not only confirmed the possibility of brain dynamic reconfiguration following divergent thinking, but also suggested the distinct IFGN reconfiguration between individuals with different creativity levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Yi Wu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Bo-Cheng Kuo
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Mao Huang
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jung Tsai
- Intramural Research Program, Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MLD, United States
| | - Ai-Ling Hsu
- Department of Radiology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Li-Ming Hsu
- Department of Radiology and Brain Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Chi-Yun Liu
- Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jyh-Horng Chen
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Changwei W Wu
- Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Brain and Consciousness Research Center, Taipei Medical University-Shuang-Ho Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan
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14
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Zhuang K, Yang W, Li Y, Zhang J, Chen Q, Meng J, Wei D, Sun J, He L, Mao Y, Wang X, Vatansever D, Qiu J. Connectome-based evidence for creative thinking as an emergent property of ordinary cognitive operations. Neuroimage 2020; 227:117632. [PMID: 33316392 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Creative thinking is a hallmark of human cognition, which enables us to generate novel and useful ideas. Nevertheless, its emergence within the macro-scale neurocognitive circuitry remains largely unknown. Using resting-state fMRI data from two large population samples (SWU: n = 931; HCP: n = 1001) and a novel "travelling pattern prediction analysis", here we identified the modularized functional connectivity patterns linked to creative thinking ability, which concurrently explained individual variability across ordinary cognitive abilities such as episodic memory, working memory and relational processing. Further interrogation of this neural pattern with graph theoretical tools revealed both hub-like brain structures and globally-efficient information transfer paths that together may facilitate higher creative thinking ability through the convergence of distinct cognitive operations. Collectively, our results provide reliable evidence for the hypothesized emergence of creative thinking from core cognitive components through neural integration, and thus allude to a significant theoretical advancement in the study of creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaixiang Zhuang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Wenjing Yang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Yu Li
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Qunlin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Jie Meng
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Dongtao Wei
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Jiangzhou Sun
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Li He
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Yu Mao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Deniz Vatansever
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Jiang Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; School of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing 400715, China; Southwest University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, Chongqing 400715, China.
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15
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Developing a neurally informed ontology of creativity measurement. Neuroimage 2020; 221:117166. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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16
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Fusi G, Lavolpe S, Crepaldi M, Rusconi ML. The Controversial Effect of Age on Divergent Thinking Abilities: A Systematic Review. JOURNAL OF CREATIVE BEHAVIOR 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/jocb.461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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17
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Hartung F, Kenett YN, Cardillo ER, Humphries S, Klooster N, Chatterjee A. Context matters: Novel metaphors in supportive and non-supportive contexts. Neuroimage 2020; 212:116645. [PMID: 32070752 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Creative language is defined as linguistic output that is both novel and appropriate. Metaphors are one such example of creative language in which one concept is used to express another by highlighting relevant semantic features. While novelty is an inherent property of unfamiliar metaphors, appropriateness depends on the context. The current study tests the hypothesis that the context in which metaphors are encountered affects their processing. We examined the neural effects of comprehending metaphors in context by comparing neural activations in response to novel metaphors and literal sentences that were either embedded in a meaningful narrative or in matched jabberwocky contexts. We found that the neural correlates of processing metaphoric sentences and their literal counterparts are indistinguishable when embedded in a narrative: both conditions activate bilateral areas along the anterior temporal poles, middle temporal gyri, superior temporal sulci, and the angular gyri. Metaphors embedded in a narrative as compared to their identical counterparts embedded in jabberwocky show increased responses in sensorimotor areas that correspond to the modality of the literal meaning of the target word, perhaps reflecting deeper semantic processing. Our results confirm that context affects neural mechanisms for understanding creative ideas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Hartung
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Eileen R Cardillo
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Stacey Humphries
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Nathaniel Klooster
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Anjan Chatterjee
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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18
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Abstract
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE The current study examined how creative divergent thinking (i.e., the ability to produce varied and original solutions to a problem) is impacted by moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). RESEARCH DESIGN Descriptive, observational. METHODS AND PROCEDURES We administered two tasks of divergent thinking, the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA) and the Alternative Uses Test (AUT), as well as a battery of neuropsychological tests and psychosocial variables (assessing memory and learning, processing speed, set shifting and psychological distress), to 29 individuals with TBI and 20 demographically-matched healthy comparison participants. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Individuals with TBI performed similarly to healthy individuals on both tests of creative thinking, although they were impaired on the neuropsychological tasks. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between performance on the ATTA and performance on neuropsychological tests, but within the TBI group AUT performance and memory were significantly and positively associated. CONCLUSIONS Our findings reveal that divergent thinking, as measured by the ATTA and AUT, might be spared following moderate-to-severe TBI. These findings further our understanding of the higher-level cognitive sequelae of TBI and suggest that divergent thinking might be leveraged during treatment planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Rigon
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Communication Disorders, Marshall University , Huntington, WV, USA
| | - Justin Reber
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa , Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Nirav N Patel
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Melissa C Duff
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville, TN, USA
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19
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Jia X, Li W, Cao L. The Role of Metacognitive Components in Creative Thinking. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2404. [PMID: 31708842 PMCID: PMC6821789 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Metacognition refers to the knowledge and regulation of one’s own cognitive processes, which has been regarded as a critical component of creative thinking. However, the current literature on the association between metacognition and creative thinking remains controversial, and the underlying role of metacognition in the creative process appears to be insufficiently explored and explained. This review focuses on the roles of three aspects of metacognition (i.e., metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experience, and metacognitive monitoring and control) in creative thinking and offers a primary summary of the neurocognitive mechanisms that support metacognition during creative thinking. Future research is needed to explore the interactive effects of the metacognitive components on creative thinking and to elucidate the function of metacognition during different stages of the creative process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Jia
- Center for Studies of Education and Psychology of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Weijian Li
- Institute of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Liren Cao
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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20
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Toward a neurocognitive framework of creative cognition: the role of memory, attention, and cognitive control. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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21
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22
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Abstract
Imagine the impact if we were to understand, and thus could reliably enhance, something - anything - about how creativity works in the brain. The fact that this prospect is not anywhere in sight makes it clear that no reliable progress has been made on the mechanisms underlying creativity over the last half century. Indeed, with the divergent thinking paradigm shown to be theoretically incoherent for neuroscience, there currently is no viable experimental approach to tackle the problem. Given that creativity is a complex and multifaceted concept, the obvious way forward is to parse it into subtypes. This paper presents a theoretical framework that divides the concept of creativity into three distinct types: a deliberate mode, a spontaneous mode, and a flow mode. Unlike previous attempts, the three creativity types are explicitly defined and delineated from one another based on established concepts in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Moreover, to maximize the framework's heuristic value, this is done separately at three different levels of description: (A) neuroanatomy, (B) processes, and (C) evolutionary algorithms (EAs), or, more precisely, different parameters of EAs. This new theoretical framework advances the field in two significant ways. First, by defining the subtypes in terms of concepts that exist in mainstream psychology and neuroscience, they are valid subtypes, as they can be theoretically defended. Second, by providing a solid theoretical rationale to investigate a more circumscribed aspect of the larger problem, the framework provides a more targeted, and realistic, line of attack that will eventually lead to more meaningful data about the neural mechanisms of creativity.
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23
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Khalil R, Godde B, Karim AA. The Link Between Creativity, Cognition, and Creative Drives and Underlying Neural Mechanisms. Front Neural Circuits 2019; 13:18. [PMID: 30967763 PMCID: PMC6440443 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2019.00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Having a creative mind is one of the gateways for achieving fabulous success and remarkable progress in professional, personal and social life. Therefore, a better understanding of the neural correlates and the underlying neural mechanisms related to creative ideation is crucial and valuable. However, the current literature on neural systems and circuits underlying creative cognition, and on how creative drives such as motivation, mood states, and reward could shape our creative mind through the associated neuromodulatory systems [i.e., the dopaminergic (DA), the noradrenergic (NE) and the serotonergic (5-HT) system] seems to be insufficient to explain the creative ideation and production process. One reason might be that the mentioned systems and processes are usually investigated in isolation and independent of each other. Through this review, we aim at advancing the current state of knowledge by providing an integrative view on the interactions between neural systems underlying the creative cognition and the creative drive and associated neuromodulatory systems (see Figure 1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Radwa Khalil
- Department of Psychology and Methods, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ben Godde
- Department of Psychology and Methods, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ahmed A Karim
- Department of Psychology and Methods, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Health Psychology and Neurorehabilitation, SRH Mobile University, Riedlingen, Germany
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24
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Yaniv D. Trust the Process: A New Scientific Outlook on Psychodramatic Spontaneity Training. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2083. [PMID: 30487763 PMCID: PMC6246640 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Human mind is hypothesis-driven and our observations of the world are strongly shaped by preconceptions. This "top-down" principle is biologically driven and contraindicative to spontaneity, which is non-linear, condensed, and initially incomprehensible. My first argument is that spontaneity entails "bottom up" information processing, as articulated in the hierarchical neurocognitive model of perception. My second argument is that changing the balance between these two processes is important and feasible. Insights from psychodynamic transference and savant syndrome are presented to support these ideas. Uniting these contemporary notions with some essentials of J. L. Moreno's philosophy is my third goal. By violating predictions and expectations, psychodrama interferes with top-down "conserved" processing and cultivates here and now, stimulus-dependent spontaneous acts. Further evidence is presented in support of the claim that adult spontaneity leads to enhanced cognition and creativity through imitating the child's brain, as Moreno envisioned. Because spontaneity is formed before having the evidence for its truth or adequacy, it entails, in adults, overcoming apprehensions about acting without a theory in mind. This is what trusting-the-process means and it requires training, which psychodrama fosters on its stage laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dani Yaniv
- Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center, The Graduate School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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25
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Rataj K, Nazareth DS, van der Velde F. Use a Spoon as a Spade?: Changes in the Upper and Lower Alpha Bands in Evaluating Alternate Object Use. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1941. [PMID: 30405471 PMCID: PMC6206077 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous electrophysiological research on human creative cognition has related creative ideation to increased activity in the alpha band, an effect which mainly reflects increased general attentional demands. Research on alpha unrelated to creativity has revealed different functional roles of the upper (semantic processes) and lower (attentional processes) alpha sub-bands. At the same time, the need to dissect creative thinking into specific cognitive operations, such as, semantic processing, re-representation, or conceptual expansion has become evident. The main aim of the reported study was to test whether increased semantic processing demands linked to creating conceptual re-representations of objects required for evaluating alternate uses modulate activity in the upper and/or lower alpha sub-bands. For this purpose, we performed an alternate use evaluation task (AUeT), in which participants saw word pairs representing common uses, alternate uses, and unrelated word pairs, and evaluated whether a given use was common or uncommon (question 1), and how usable it was (question 2). Such an approach allowed us to examine the time-course of semantic processing involved in evaluating alternate uses. Additionally, the results could be contrasted with event-related potential (ERP) studies on creative language and semantic processing. We assumed that demands related to access and integration of semantic information needed to create a re-representation of objects (alternate uses) would be larger than in the case of common uses, which do not require creating a re-representation. This should be reflected in more activity in the alpha band in response to alternate than common uses, which was observed in the analysis of the upper alpha band over parieto-occipital sites. In the lower alpha band, more activity over the left than right anterior sites was observed for alternate uses, which might reflect increased attentional demands. Additionally, in the ERP analysis, alternate uses evoked larger N400 (400–500 ms) amplitudes than common uses, a pattern that extended to later time windows (500–1,000 ms). Overall, the results indicate increased semantic processing demands in alternate use evaluation, possibly linked to the creation of conceptual re-representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Rataj
- Department of Psycholinguistic Studies, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.,Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
| | - Deniece S Nazareth
- Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, Health, and Technology, Human Media Interaction, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
| | - Frank van der Velde
- Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
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26
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27
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Lin H, Vartanian O. A Neuroeconomic Framework for Creative Cognition. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2018; 13:655-677. [DOI: 10.1177/1745691618794945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Neuroeconomics is the study of the neurobiological bases of subjective preferences and choices. We present a novel framework that synthesizes findings from the literatures on neuroeconomics and creativity to provide a neurobiological description of creative cognition. We propose that value-based decision-making processes and activity in the locus ceruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) neuromodulatory system underlie creative cognition, as well as the large-scale brain network dynamics shown to be associated with creativity. This reconceptualization leads to several falsifiable hypotheses that can further understanding of creativity, decision making, and brain network dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hause Lin
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
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28
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Creative conceptual expansion: A combined fMRI replication and extension study to examine individual differences in creativity. Neuropsychologia 2018; 118:29-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Revised: 05/01/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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29
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Abstract
Real world problem-solving (RWPS) is what we do every day. It requires flexibility, resilience, resourcefulness, and a certain degree of creativity. A crucial feature of RWPS is that it involves continuous interaction with the environment during the problem-solving process. In this process, the environment can be seen as not only a source of inspiration for new ideas but also as a tool to facilitate creative thinking. The cognitive neuroscience literature in creativity and problem-solving is extensive, but it has largely focused on neural networks that are active when subjects are not focused on the outside world, i.e., not using their environment. In this paper, I attempt to combine the relevant literature on creativity and problem-solving with the scattered and nascent work in perceptually-driven learning from the environment. I present my synthesis as a potential new theory for real world problem-solving and map out its hypothesized neural basis. I outline some testable predictions made by the model and provide some considerations and ideas for experimental paradigms that could be used to evaluate the model more thoroughly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasanth Sarathy
- Human-Robot Interaction Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
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30
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Goya-Maldonado R, Keil M, Brodmann K, Gruber O. Reactivity of the Reward System in Artists During Acceptance and Rejection of Monetary Rewards. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2018.1414994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Katja Brodmann
- University Medical Center Göttingen
- Universidade de Lisboa
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31
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Robust prediction of individual creative ability from brain functional connectivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:1087-1092. [PMID: 29339474 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713532115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 321] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
People's ability to think creatively is a primary means of technological and cultural progress, yet the neural architecture of the highly creative brain remains largely undefined. Here, we employed a recently developed method in functional brain imaging analysis-connectome-based predictive modeling-to identify a brain network associated with high-creative ability, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquired from 163 participants engaged in a classic divergent thinking task. At the behavioral level, we found a strong correlation between creative thinking ability and self-reported creative behavior and accomplishment in the arts and sciences (r = 0.54). At the neural level, we found a pattern of functional brain connectivity related to high-creative thinking ability consisting of frontal and parietal regions within default, salience, and executive brain systems. In a leave-one-out cross-validation analysis, we show that this neural model can reliably predict the creative quality of ideas generated by novel participants within the sample. Furthermore, in a series of external validation analyses using data from two independent task fMRI samples and a large task-free resting-state fMRI sample, we demonstrate robust prediction of individual creative thinking ability from the same pattern of brain connectivity. The findings thus reveal a whole-brain network associated with high-creative ability comprised of cortical hubs within default, salience, and executive systems-intrinsic functional networks that tend to work in opposition-suggesting that highly creative people are characterized by the ability to simultaneously engage these large-scale brain networks.
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32
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Perchtold CM, Papousek I, Koschutnig K, Rominger C, Weber H, Weiss EM, Fink A. Affective creativity meets classic creativity in the scanner. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:393-406. [PMID: 29058352 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2017] [Revised: 10/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The investigation of neurocognitive processes underlying more real-life creative behavior is among the greatest challenges in creativity research. In this fMRI study, we addressed this issue by investigating functional patterns of brain activity while participants were required to be creative in an affective context. Affective creativity was assessed in terms of individual's inventiveness in generating alternative appraisals for anger-evoking events, which has recently emerged as a new ability concept in cognitive reappraisal research. In addition, a classic divergent thinking task was administered. Both creativity tasks yielded strong activation in left prefrontal regions, indicating their shared cognitive processing demands like the inhibition of prepotent responses, shifting between different perspectives and controlled memory retrieval. Regarding task-specific differences, classic creative ideation activated a characteristic divergent thinking network comprising the left supramarginal, inferior temporal, and inferior frontal gyri. Affective creativity on the other hand specifically recruited the right superior frontal gyrus, presumably involved in the postretrieval monitoring of reappraisal success, and core hubs of the default-mode network, which are also implicated in social cognition. As a whole, by taking creativity research to the realm of emotion, this study advances our understanding of how more real-life creativity is rooted in the brain. Hum Brain Mapp 39:393-406, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilona Papousek
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | | | | | - Hannelore Weber
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | | | - Andreas Fink
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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33
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Pidgeon LM, Grealy M, Duffy AHB, Hay L, McTeague C, Vuletic T, Coyle D, Gilbert SJ. Functional neuroimaging of visual creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav 2016; 6:e00540. [PMID: 27781148 PMCID: PMC5064346 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2016] [Accepted: 07/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Pidgeon
- School of Psychological Sciences and HealthUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
- Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering ManagementUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Madeleine Grealy
- School of Psychological Sciences and HealthUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Alex H. B. Duffy
- Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering ManagementUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Laura Hay
- Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering ManagementUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Chris McTeague
- School of Psychological Sciences and HealthUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
- Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering ManagementUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Tijana Vuletic
- School of Psychological Sciences and HealthUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
- Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering ManagementUniversity of StrathclydeGlasgowUK
| | - Damien Coyle
- Intelligent Systems Research CentreUniversity of UlsterDerryNorthern Ireland
| | - Sam J. Gilbert
- Institute of Cognitive NeuroscienceUniversity College LondonLondonUK
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34
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Warren DE, Kurczek J, Duff MC. What relates newspaper, definite, and clothing? An article describing deficits in convergent problem solving and creativity following hippocampal damage. Hippocampus 2016; 26:835-40. [PMID: 27010751 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Creativity relies on a diverse set of cognitive processes associated with distinct neural correlates, and one important aspect of creativity, divergent thinking, has been associated with the hippocampus. However, hippocampal contributions to another important aspect of creativity, convergent problem solving, have not been investigated. We tested the necessity of hippocampus for convergent problem solving using a neuropsychological method. Participants with amnesia due to hippocampal damage (N = 5) and healthy normal comparison participants (N = 5) were tested using a task that promoted solutions based on existing knowledge (Bowden and Jung-Beeman, 2003). During each trial, participants were given a list of three words (e.g., fly, man, place) and asked to respond with a word that could be combined with each of the three words (e.g., fire). The amnesic group produced significantly fewer correct responses than the healthy comparison group. These findings indicate that the hippocampus is necessary for normal convergent problem solving and that changes in the status of the hippocampus should affect convergent problem solving in the context of creative problem-solving across short intervals. This proposed contribution of the hippocampus to convergent problem solving is consistent with an expanded perspective on hippocampal function that acknowledges its role in cognitive processes beyond declarative memory. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Warren
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
| | - Jake Kurczek
- Department of Psychology, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania
| | - Melissa C Duff
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
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Human creativity, evolutionary algorithms, and predictive representations: The mechanics of thought trials. Psychon Bull Rev 2016; 22:897-915. [PMID: 25304474 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-014-0743-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Creative thinking is arguably the pinnacle of cerebral functionality. Like no other mental faculty, it has been omnipotent in transforming human civilizations. Probing the neural basis of this most extraordinary capacity, however, has been doggedly frustrated. Despite a flurry of activity in cognitive neuroscience, recent reviews have shown that there is no coherent picture emerging from the neuroimaging work. Based on this, we take a different route and apply two well established paradigms to the problem. First is the evolutionary framework that, despite being part and parcel of creativity research, has no informed experimental work in cognitive neuroscience. Second is the emerging prediction framework that recognizes predictive representations as an integrating principle of all cognition. We show here how the prediction imperative revealingly synthesizes a host of new insights into the way brains process variation-selection thought trials and present a new neural mechanism for the partial sightedness in human creativity. Our ability to run offline simulations of expected future environments and action outcomes can account for some of the characteristic properties of cultural evolutionary algorithms running in brains, such as degrees of sightedness, the formation of scaffolds to jump over unviable intermediate forms, or how fitness criteria are set for a selection process that is necessarily hypothetical. Prospective processing in the brain also sheds light on how human creating and designing - as opposed to biological creativity - can be accompanied by intentions and foresight. This paper raises questions about the nature of creative thought that, as far as we know, have never been asked before.
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Cultural Evolutionary Perspectives on Creativity and Human Innovation. Trends Ecol Evol 2015; 30:736-754. [PMID: 26598058 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2014] [Revised: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Cultural traits originate through creative or innovative processes, which might be crucial to understanding how culture evolves and accumulates. However, because of its complexity and apparent subjectivity, creativity has remained largely unexplored as the dynamic underpinning of cultural evolution. Here, we explore the approach to innovation commonly taken in theoretical studies of cultural evolution and discuss its limitations. Drawing insights from cognitive science, psychology, archeology, and even animal behavior, it is possible to generate a formal description of creativity and to incorporate a dynamic theory of creativity into models of cultural evolution. We discuss the implications of such models for our understanding of the archaeological record and the history of hominid culture.
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Colombo B, Bartesaghi N, Simonelli L, Antonietti A. The combined effects of neurostimulation and priming on creative thinking. A preliminary tDCS study on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:403. [PMID: 26236219 PMCID: PMC4505103 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2014] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in influencing creative thinking has been investigated by many researchers who, while succeeding in proving an effective involvement of PFC, reported suggestive but sometimes conflicting results. In order to better understand the relationships between creative thinking and brain activation in a more specific area of the PFC, we explored the role of dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC). We devised an experimental protocol using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS). The study was based on a 3 (kind of stimulation: anodal vs. cathodal vs. sham) × 2 (priming: divergent vs. convergent) design. Forty-five healthy adults were randomly assigned to one stimulation condition. Participants' creativity skills were assessed using the Product Improvement subtest from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). After 20 min of tDCS stimulation, participants were presented with visual images of common objects. Half of the participants were instructed to visualize themselves using the object in an unusual way (divergent priming), whereas the other half were asked to visualize themselves while using the object in a common way (convergent priming). Priming was aimed at inducing participants to adopt different attitudes toward the creative task. Afterwards, participants were asked to describe all of the possible uses of the objects that were presented. Participants' physiological activation was recorded using a biofeedback equipment. Results showed a significant effect of anodal stimulation that enhanced creative performance, but only after divergent priming. Participants showed lower skin temperature values after cathodal stimulation, a finding which is coherent with studies reporting that, when a task is not creative or creative thinking is not prompted, people show lower levels of arousal. Differences in individual levels of creativity as assessed by the Product Improvement test were not influential. The involvement of DLPFC in creativity has been supported, presumably in association to shift of attention modulated by priming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Colombo
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred HeartMilano, Italy
- Division of Education and Human Studies, Champlain CollegeBurlington, VT, USA
| | - Noemi Bartesaghi
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred HeartMilano, Italy
| | - Luisa Simonelli
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred HeartMilano, Italy
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Liu S, Erkkinen MG, Healey ML, Xu Y, Swett KE, Chow HM, Braun AR. Brain activity and connectivity during poetry composition: Toward a multidimensional model of the creative process. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:3351-72. [PMID: 26015271 PMCID: PMC4581594 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Creativity, a multifaceted construct, can be studied in various ways, for example, investigating phases of the creative process, quality of the creative product, or the impact of expertise. Previous neuroimaging studies have assessed these individually. Believing that each of these interacting features must be examined simultaneously to develop a comprehensive understanding of creative behavior, we examined poetry composition, assessing process, product, and expertise in a single experiment. Distinct activation patterns were associated with generation and revision, two major phases of the creative process. Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) was active during both phases, yet responses in dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal executive systems (DLPFC/IPS) were phase‐dependent, indicating that while motivation remains unchanged, cognitive control is attenuated during generation and re‐engaged during revision. Experts showed significantly stronger deactivation of DLPFC/IPS during generation, suggesting that they may more effectively suspend cognitive control. Importantly however, similar overall patterns were observed in both groups, indicating the same cognitive resources are available to experts and novices alike. Quality of poetry, assessed by an independent panel, was associated with divergent connectivity patterns in experts and novices, centered upon MPFC (for technical facility) and DLPFC/IPS (for innovation), suggesting a mechanism by which experts produce higher quality poetry. Crucially, each of these three key features can be understood in the context of a single neurocognitive model characterized by dynamic interactions between medial prefrontal areas regulating motivation, dorsolateral prefrontal, and parietal areas regulating cognitive control and the association of these regions with language, sensorimotor, limbic, and subcortical areas distributed throughout the brain. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3351–3372, 2015. © 2015 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc..
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Liu
- Language Section, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
| | - Michael G Erkkinen
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02114
| | - Meghan L Healey
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
| | - Yisheng Xu
- Language Section, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
| | - Katherine E Swett
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 37232
| | - Ho Ming Chow
- Language Section, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan
| | - Allen R Braun
- Language Section, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
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39
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Enhancing verbal creativity: Modulating creativity by altering the balance between right and left inferior frontal gyrus with tDCS. Neuroscience 2015; 291:167-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2014] [Revised: 01/28/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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40
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Jauk E, Neubauer AC, Dunst B, Fink A, Benedek M. Gray matter correlates of creative potential: a latent variable voxel-based morphometry study. Neuroimage 2015; 111:312-20. [PMID: 25676914 PMCID: PMC4401439 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2014] [Revised: 01/30/2015] [Accepted: 02/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
There is increasing research interest in the structural and functional brain correlates underlying creative potential. Recent investigations found that interindividual differences in creative potential relate to volumetric differences in brain regions belonging to the default mode network, such as the precuneus. Yet, the complex interplay between creative potential, intelligence, and personality traits and their respective neural bases is still under debate. We investigated regional gray matter volume (rGMV) differences that can be associated with creative potential in a heterogeneous sample of N = 135 individuals using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). By means of latent variable modeling and consideration of recent psychometric advancements in creativity research, we sought to disentangle the effects of ideational originality and fluency as two independent indicators of creative potential. Intelligence and openness to experience were considered as common covariates of creative potential. The results confirmed and extended previous research: rGMV in the precuneus was associated with ideational originality, but not with ideational fluency. In addition, we found ideational originality to be correlated with rGMV in the caudate nucleus. The results indicate that the ability to produce original ideas is tied to default-mode as well as dopaminergic structures. These structural brain correlates of ideational originality were apparent throughout the whole range of intellectual ability and thus not moderated by intelligence. In contrast, structural correlates of ideational fluency, a quantitative marker of creative potential, were observed only in lower intelligent individuals in the cuneus/lingual gyrus. We studied gray matter correlates of creativity by means of voxel-based morphometry. Latent variables were used as predictors of regional gray matter volume. Creative potential was measured by means of ideational originality and fluency. Originality was correlated to gray matter in the precuneus and nucleus caudatus. Fluency was correlated to cuneus gray matter, but only in lower IQ individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Jauk
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMed-Graz, Austria.
| | | | - Beate Dunst
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMed-Graz, Austria
| | - Andreas Fink
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMed-Graz, Austria
| | - Mathias Benedek
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, BioTechMed-Graz, Austria
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41
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Kenett YN, Anaki D, Faust M. Processing of unconventional stimuli requires the recruitment of the non-specialized hemisphere. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:32. [PMID: 25709576 PMCID: PMC4321434 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2014] [Accepted: 01/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study we investigate hemispheric processing of conventional and unconventional visual stimuli in the context of visual and verbal creative ability. In Experiment 1, we studied two unconventional visual recognition tasks—Mooney face and objects’ silhouette recognition—and found a significant relationship between measures of verbal creativity and unconventional face recognition. In Experiment 2 we used the split visual field (SVF) paradigm to investigate hemispheric processing of conventional and unconventional faces and its relation to verbal and visual characteristics of creativity. Results showed that while conventional faces were better processed by the specialized right hemisphere (RH), unconventional faces were better processed by the non-specialized left hemisphere (LH). In addition, only unconventional face processing by the non-specialized LH was related to verbal and visual measures of creative ability. Our findings demonstrate the role of the non-specialized hemisphere in processing unconventional stimuli and how it relates to creativity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoed N Kenett
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - David Anaki
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel ; Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Miriam Faust
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel ; Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University Ramat-Gan, Israel
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42
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Cousijn J, Koolschijn PCMP, Zanolie K, Kleibeuker SW, Crone EA. The relation between gray matter morphology and divergent thinking in adolescents and young adults. PLoS One 2014; 9:e114619. [PMID: 25514366 PMCID: PMC4267782 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 11/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Adolescence and early adulthood are developmental time periods during which creative cognition is highly important for adapting to environmental changes. Divergent thinking, which refers to generating novel and useful solutions to open-ended problems, has often been used as a measure of creative cognition. The first goal of this structural neuroimaging study was to elucidate the relationship between gray matter morphology and performance in the verbal (AUT; alternative uses task) and visuo-spatial (CAT; creative ability test) domain of divergent thinking in adolescents and young adults. The second goal was to test if gray matter morphology is related to brain activity during AUT performance. Neural and behavioral data were combined from a cross-sectional study including 25 adolescents aged 15-17 and 20 young adults aged 25-30. Brain-behavior relationships were assessed without a priori location assumptions and within areas that were activated during an AUT-scanner task. Gray matter volume and cortical thickness were not significantly associated with verbal divergent thinking. However, visuo-spatial divergent thinking (CAT originality and fluency) was positively associated with cortical thickness of the right middle temporal gyrus and left brain areas including the superior frontal gyrus and various occipital, parietal, and temporal areas, independently of age. AUT brain activity was not associated with cortical thickness. The results support an important role of a widespread brain network involved in flexible visuo-spatial divergent thinking, providing evidence for a relation between cortical thickness and visuo-spatial divergent thinking in adolescents and young adults. However, studies including visuo-spatial divergent thinking tasks in the scanner are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Cousijn
- Brain and Development Lab, Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Developmental and Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - P Cédric M P Koolschijn
- Dutch Autism & ADHD Research Center, Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kiki Zanolie
- Brain and Development Lab, Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sietske W Kleibeuker
- Brain and Development Lab, Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Eveline A Crone
- Brain and Development Lab, Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Abstract
Gender differences in creativity have been widely studied in behavioral investigations, but this topic has rarely been the focus of neuroscientific research. The current paper presents follow-up analyses of a previous fMRI study (Abraham et al., Neuropsychologia 50(8):1906-1917, 2012b), in which behavioral and brain function during creative conceptual expansion as well as general divergent thinking were explored. Here, we focus on gender differences within the same sample. Conceptual expansion was assessed with the alternate uses task relative to the object location task, whereas divergent thinking was assessed in terms of responses across both the alternate uses and object location tasks relative to n-back working memory tasks. While men and women were indistinguishable in terms of behavioral performance across all tasks, the pattern of brain activity while engaged in the tasks in question was indicative of strategy differences between the genders. Brain areas related to semantic cognition, rule learning and decision making were preferentially engaged in men during conceptual expansion, whereas women displayed higher activity in regions related to speech processing and social perception. During divergent thinking, declarative memory related regions were strongly activated in men, while regions involved in theory of mind and self-referential processing were more engaged in women. The implications of gender differences in adopted strategies or cognitive style when faced with generative tasks are discussed.
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44
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Carson S. Leveraging the "mad genius" debate: why we need a neuroscience of creativity and psychopathology. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:771. [PMID: 25324762 PMCID: PMC4179620 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shelley Carson
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University Cambridge, MA, USA
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45
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Beaty RE, Benedek M, Wilkins RW, Jauk E, Fink A, Silvia PJ, Hodges DA, Koschutnig K, Neubauer AC. Creativity and the default network: A functional connectivity analysis of the creative brain at rest. Neuropsychologia 2014; 64:92-8. [PMID: 25245940 PMCID: PMC4410786 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2014] [Revised: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The present research used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether the ability to generate creative ideas corresponds to differences in the intrinsic organization of functional networks in the brain. We examined the functional connectivity between regions commonly implicated in neuroimaging studies of divergent thinking, including the inferior prefrontal cortex and the core hubs of the default network. Participants were prescreened on a battery of divergent thinking tests and assigned to high- and low-creative groups based on task performance. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis revealed greater connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the entire default mode network in the high-creative group. The right IFG also showed greater functional connectivity with bilateral inferior parietal cortex and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the high-creative group. The results suggest that the ability to generate creative ideas is characterized by increased functional connectivity between the inferior prefrontal cortex and the default network, pointing to a greater cooperation between brain regions associated with cognitive control and low-level imaginative processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger E Beaty
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA.
| | | | - Robin W Wilkins
- Music Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA; Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, Greensboro, USA
| | - Emanuel Jauk
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria
| | - Andreas Fink
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria
| | - Paul J Silvia
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
| | - Donald A Hodges
- Music Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
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Lotze M, Erhard K, Neumann N, Eickhoff SB, Langner R. Neural correlates of verbal creativity: differences in resting-state functional connectivity associated with expertise in creative writing. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:516. [PMID: 25076885 PMCID: PMC4098078 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 06/26/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural characteristics of verbal creativity as assessed by word generation tasks have been recently identified, but differences in resting-state functional connectivity (rFC) between experts and non-experts in creative writing have not been reported yet. Previous electroencephalography (EEG) coherence measures during rest demonstrated a decreased cooperation between brain areas in association with creative thinking ability. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare 20 experts in creative writing and 23 age-matched non-experts with respect to rFC strengths within a brain network previously found to be associated with creative writing. Decreased rFC for experts was found between areas 44 of both hemispheres. Increased rFC for experts was observed between right hemispheric caudate and intraparietal sulcus. Correlation analysis of verbal creativity indices (VCIs) with rFC values in the expert group revealed predominantly negative associations, particularly of rFC between left area 44 and left temporal pole. Overall, our data support previous findings of reduced connectivity between interhemispheric areas and increased right-hemispheric connectivity during rest in highly verbally creative individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Lotze
- Functional Imaging Unit, Center for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Greifswald Greifswald, Germany
| | - Katharina Erhard
- Functional Imaging Unit, Center for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Greifswald Greifswald, Germany
| | - Nicola Neumann
- Functional Imaging Unit, Center for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University of Greifswald Greifswald, Germany
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Düsseldorf, Germany ; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Research Centre Jülich Jülich, Germany
| | - Robert Langner
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Düsseldorf, Germany ; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Research Centre Jülich Jülich, Germany
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47
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Kenett YN, Anaki D, Faust M. Investigating the structure of semantic networks in low and high creative persons. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:407. [PMID: 24959129 PMCID: PMC4051268 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2014] [Accepted: 05/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
According to Mednick's (1962) theory of individual differences in creativity, creative individuals appear to have a richer and more flexible associative network than less creative individuals. Thus, creative individuals are characterized by "flat" (broader associations) instead of "steep" (few, common associations) associational hierarchies. To study these differences, we implement a novel computational approach to the study of semantic networks, through the analysis of free associations. The core notion of our method is that concepts in the network are related to each other by their association correlations-overlap of similar associative responses ("association clouds"). We began by collecting a large sample of participants who underwent several creativity measurements and used a decision tree approach to divide the sample into low and high creative groups. Next, each group underwent a free association generation paradigm which allowed us to construct and analyze the semantic networks of both groups. Comparison of the semantic memory networks of persons with low creative ability and persons with high creative ability revealed differences between the two networks. The semantic memory network of persons with low creative ability seems to be more rigid, compared to the network of persons with high creative ability, in the sense that it is more spread out and breaks apart into more sub-parts. We discuss how our findings are in accord and extend Mednick's (1962) theory and the feasibility of using network science paradigms to investigate high level cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoed N. Kenett
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat-Gan, Israel
| | - David Anaki
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat-Gan, Israel
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat-Gan, Israel
| | - Miriam Faust
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat-Gan, Israel
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat-Gan, Israel
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48
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Abraham A. Creative thinking as orchestrated by semantic processing vs. cognitive control brain networks. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:95. [PMID: 24605098 PMCID: PMC3932551 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2013] [Accepted: 02/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Creativity is primarily investigated within the neuroscientific perspective as a unitary construct. While such an approach is beneficial when trying to infer the general picture regarding creativity and brain function, it is insufficient if the objective is to uncover the information processing brain mechanisms by which creativity occurs. As creative thinking emerges through the dynamic interplay between several cognitive processes, assessing the neural correlates of these operations would enable the development and characterization of an information processing framework from which to better understand this complex ability. This article focuses on two aspects of creative cognition that are central to generating original ideas. "Conceptual expansion" refers to the ability to widen one's conceptual structures to include unusual or novel associations, while "overcoming knowledge constraints" refers to our ability to override the constraining influence imposed by salient or pertinent knowledge when trying to be creative. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence is presented to illustrate how semantic processing and cognitive control networks in the brain differentially modulate these critical facets of creative cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Abraham
- Department of Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait UniversityJabriya, Kuwait
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