Insomnia and intellect mask the positive link between schizotypal traits and creativity

Memory and creativity: A meta-analytic examination of the relationship between memory systems and creative cognition

Increasing evidence suggests that specific memory systems (e.g., semantic vs. episodic) may support specific creative thought processes. However, there are a number of inconsistencies in the literature regarding the strength, direction, and influence of different memory (semantic, episodic, working, and short-term) and creativity (divergent and convergent thinking) types, as well as the influence of external factors (age, stimuli modality) on this purported relationship. In this meta-analysis, we examined 525 correlations from 79 published studies and unpublished datasets, representing data from 12,846 individual participants. We found a small but significant (r = .19) correlation between memory and creative cognition. Among semantic, episodic, working, and short-term memory, all correlations were significant, but semantic memory - particularly verbal fluency, the ability to strategically retrieve information from long-term memory - was found to drive this relationship. Further, working memory capacity was found to be more strongly related to convergent than divergent creative thinking. We also found that within visual creativity, the relationship with visual memory was greater than that of verbal memory, but within verbal creativity, the relationship with verbal memory was greater than that of visual memory. Finally, the memory-creativity correlation was larger for children compared to young adults despite no impact of age on the overall effect size. These results yield three key conclusions: (1) semantic memory supports both verbal and nonverbal creative thinking, (2) working memory supports convergent creative thinking, and (3) the cognitive control of memory is central to performance on creative thinking tasks.

Personality and insomnia: A systematic review and narrative synthesis

The inherent nature of personality serves as a predisposing, and possible maintaining, factor of insomnia. However, methodological differences limit the ability to draw causal conclusions regarding the specific traits involved in the aetiology of the disorder. This systematic review of the relationship between insomnia and personality provides a narrative synthesis of the literature to date. Here, we identified N = 76 studies meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The outcomes reliably evidenced the experience of insomnia to be associated with personality traits that are typically considered to be negative or maladaptive in nature. More specifically, insomnia was related to neuroticism, introversion, perfectionistic doubts and concerns, elevated personal standards, negative affect, social inhibition and avoidance, hysteria, hypochondriasis, psychasthenia, impulsive behaviour, anger, hostility, and psychopathic tendencies, schizotypal and borderline traits, reduced conscientiousness and self-directedness, and negatively perceived perception of the self. Several studies examined the role that personality plays in predicting the treatment efficacy and adherence of CBTi. Moving forward, longitudinal research, methodological consistency, the mediating role of treatment outcomes and adherence, and clinical and population representative samples should be prioritised. Methodological strengths and limitations of the literature are discussed alongside the next steps that should be taken to advance our understanding of the literature.

Factors influencing schizotypal personality trait-dependent immersion and digital media usage: Adaptation and maladaptation

Immersion in the digital environment has been widely researched; however, the effects of adaptive and maladaptive schizotypal personality traits on immersion have received relatively little attention up till now. This study investigates the factors of personal immersion while using entertainment and digital communication applications and other variables such as problematic internet usage, and Facebook addiction. The Immersive Tendency Questionnaire was applied to measure participants' tendency to experience artistic and life-like scenarios in traditional settings (reading a book and watching a movie) and digital environments (playing computer games and using the internet). The study was conducted with 717 college students and graduate persons including, 186 males (mean age: 28.49) and 531 females (mean age: 28.4). The results show that lowered focusing abilities are directly linked with deficiencies in self-coherence, and maladaptive behavior that manifests in problematic internet and Facebook usage. Furthermore, the attention/focusing ability during immersion is accompanied by coherent self-structure and psychological well-being. Therefore, for people who have adequate focusing skills and coherent self-structure, the usage of social media and computer gaming can be considered adequate digital tools for developing their cognitive and social skills.

Loneliness, positive, negative and disorganised Schizotypy before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Loneliness is common in psychosis and occurs along a continuum. Here we investigate inter-relationships between loneliness, three-dimensional schizotypy, and depressive symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sample included 507 university students (48.3% participated before and 51.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic) who completed the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief, the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms depression scale and the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. Schizotypy and depression scores were regressed onto loneliness individually and in multiple regressions.

The cohorts did not differ in any of the schizotypy domains (all p > .29). Depressive symptoms (p = .05) and loneliness (p = .006) were higher during the pandemic than before. Across cohorts, loneliness was significantly associated with positive (β = 0.23, p < .001), negative (β = 0.44, p < .001), and disorganised schizotypy (β = 0.44, p < .001), and with depression (β = 0.72, p < .001). Schizotypy together explained a significant amount of variance in loneliness (R² = 0.26), with significant associations with positive (β = −0.09, p = .047), negative (β = 0.31, p < .001) and disorganised schizotypy (β = 0.34, p < .001). When depression was included (β = 0.69, p < .001), only positive (β = −0.09, p = .008) and negative schizotypy (β = 0.22, p < .001) significantly predicted loneliness.

When all schizotypy dimensions and depression were considered together, only negative schizotypy and depression significantly predicted loneliness. Loneliness and depressive symptoms were higher during the pandemic, but this did not relate to cohort differences in schizotypy.

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Loneliness is uniquely associated with negative schizotypy and depression, but not disorganised schizotypy.

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Certain aspects of positive schizotypy may protect against loneliness.

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Loneliness and depressive symptoms were higher in students during the COVID-19 pandemic than before.

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Cohorts of students assessed before and during the pandemic showed similar levels of schizotypy.

Schizotypy unfolding into the night? Schizotypal traits and daytime psychotic-like experiences predict negative and salient dreams

Symptoms of insomnia and frequent nightmares are prevalent in psychotic disorders, and are associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in the non-clinical population. Whereas the role of impaired sleep in psychosis was extensively examined by longitudinal and interventional approaches, studies on the association between psychosis and dream quality are scarce, and mainly cross-sectional. We conducted a three-week long prospective study in a group of healthy adults (N = 55), assessed schizotypal traits, daily PLEs, and the emotional quality of dreams recalled in the morning (N = 490). We extracted the latent factors of schizotypal traits and dream emotions, and examined the predictive value of trait-and state-like variables on day-to-day reports of PLEs and dream quality. PLEs reported in the evening predicted emotionally more negative and salient dream reports the following morning. On the other hand, the quality of dreams were not predictive of PLEs reported later during the day. Schizotypal personality traits were differentially associated with dream quality: Introvertive Anhedonia, Cognitive Disorganization, and General-Disorganized schizotypy were linked to more negative dream valence, whereas Unusual Experiences were associated with more salient dreams. Our findings highlight the relevance of the multidimensional nature of schizotypal traits, the role of different facets of schizotypy in daytime and nocturnal mental experiences, and the day-to-day associations between PLEs and dream affect. GENERAL SCIENTIFIC SUMMARIES (GSS): The aim of the study was to examine the temporal associations between psychotic-like experiences and dream emotions, taking into account the trait factors of schizotypy. Psychotic-like experiences during the evening hours predicted reporting more negative and salient dreams the following morning, and schizotypal personality traits were differentially associated with the dimensions of dream emotions.

Ambiguous handedness and visuospatial pseudoneglect in schizotypy in physical and computer-generated virtual environments

Virtual reality (VR) technology has increased clinical attention in the health care of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in both diagnoses of the symptoms and assessment of schizotypal traits. However, the exact nature of VR-induced positive treatment effect in schizotypy is still unknown. In this study, VR technology was used as a non-invasive neurocognitive trigger to test the asymmetric visuospatial representational instability found in individuals with high schizotypy. The study aimed to reveal the brain functional hemispheric laterality in physical and virtual realities in individuals with schizotypal traits. Fifty-one healthy, right-handed participants (24 males and 27 females) were enrolled through public advertisements. Hemispheric functional asymmetry was measured by the Line Bisection Task (LBT). The results revealed that (a) LBT bias in the physical reality showed a handedness-related leftward pseudoneglect, however, similar handedness-related pseudoneglect in VR has not been found. (b) Comparing LBT bias in physically real and VR environments showed rightward drift in VR environments independently to the degree of handedness. (c) The schizotypy has no association with handedness, however, the cognitive schizotypy is related to the LBT bias. Higher cognitive schizotypy in VR associated with left hemispatial pseudoneglect. In conclusion, schizotypy is associated with ambiguous behavioral and cognitive functional laterality. In individuals with high cognitive schizotypy, the VR environment enhanced the representational articulation of the left hemispace. This effect may be originated from the enhancement of the right hemisphere overactivation and is followed by a lower mental control of the overt behavior.

Positive schizotypy is associated with amplified mnemonic discrimination and attenuated generalization

Tendency to experience inaccurate beliefs alongside perceptual anomalies constitutes positive schizotypal traits in the general population and shows continuity with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. It has been hypothesized that the positive symptomatology of schizophrenia, and by extension, the odd beliefs and unusual perceptual experiences in the general population, are associated with specific alterations in memory functions. An imbalance between memory generalization and episodic memory specificity has been proposed on several counts; however, the direction of the imbalance is currently unclear. Here, we evaluated the association between positive schizotypy, and memory alterations related to hippocampal computations in a general population sample enriched for positive schizotypy. We found that memory generalization is attenuated while memory specificity is elevated in participants with more pronounced positive schizotypal traits. Our findings show that people who are prone to irrational beliefs and unusual experiences also show measurable alterations in memory and likely have difficulty grasping the global picture and rather be overpowered by fragments of information.

Adaptive and maladaptive features of schizotypy clusters in a community sample

Schizotypal personality traits correlate with psychopathology and impaired functional outcome. Yet advantageous aspects of positive schizotypy may exist which could promote resilience and creativity, and several studies have identified a high positive but low negative schizotypy group with some signs of adaptation. The aim of our study was to clarify whether such individuals demonstrate only traits associated with well-being, or they also have traits that predict impairment. Participants (N = 643 students, 71.5% female) completed measures of schizotypy, resilience, self-esteem, self-concept clarity, and absorption. We identified four clusters: an overall low schizotypy, an overall high schizotypy, a disorganised-interpersonal schizotypy and a positive schizotypy cluster. The overall high schizotypy cluster seemed to be the most vulnerable as it was the least resilient and showed widespread maladaptation, whereas the high positive schizotypy cluster had intact self-esteem and high resilience and its elevated absorption may hold the promise for adaptive outcomes such as creativity and positive spirituality. However, the high positive schizotypy cluster lacked self-concept clarity. The results suggest that individuals showing high positive and low negative schizotypy demonstrate features promoting mental well-being to an extent that is higher than in all the other clusters, while their self-concept impairment is similar to that observed in the high and the disorganised-interpersonal schizotypy clusters. Better understanding of these factors could be informative for prevention and treatment of psychosis-spectrum disorders.

How did Tunisian university students cope with fear of COVID-19? A comparison across schizotypy features

Background

Little consideration has been given to the impact of COVID-19 on people at risk of psychosis despite their particular preexisting vulnerability. We aimed to examine the role of coping strategies in determining the levels of fear in nonclinical students with high levels of self-reported schizotypal personality traits as compared to low-schizotypy controls.

Method

This was a cross-sectional survey. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and The Brief-Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced were used.

Results

High-schizotypy students had significantly higher maladaptive strategies scores and higher levels of fear of COVID-19 as compared to low-schizotypy students. Multivariate analyses have shown that high-schizotypy individuals were likely to rely on coping responses that are maladaptive (venting) and have potential exacerbating effects on fear of COVID-19, whereas low-schizotypy individuals were likely to use adaptive responses (acceptance) that seemed to be effective in reducing fear of COVID-19.

Conclusion

This study provided preliminary cross-sectional evidence for a differential impact of COVID-19 on individuals according to their schizotypy features. However, larger longitudinal population-based studies are necessary to confirm our findings.

Cognitive Gain or Handicap: Magical Ideation and Self-Absorption in Clinical and Non-clinical Participants

Background: This study aimed to examine magical ideation and absorption traits across non-clinical and clinical groups to determine their potential adaptive and maladaptive functions.

Method: We enrolled 760 healthy participants from neighboring communities (female = 53.2%). Moreover, we recruited 318 patients (female = 66.5%), which included 25, 183, and 110 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders, respectively. Potentially adaptive and maladaptive sociocognitive functions were measured to determine the role of magical ideation and self-absorption in patients with psychiatric disorders.

Results: The degree of magical ideation and absorption gradually increased in the following order: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Furthermore, enhanced self-absorption-related enhanced consciousness traits were essential indicators of the presence of self-integration weakness in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Conclusion: Magical ideation and psychological absorption may be considered as mental model construction functions, which result in both gains and handicaps in social adaptation.

A Systematic Review of Creativity-Related Studies Applying the Remote Associates Test From 2000 to 2019

The study examines how the remote associates test (RAT) has been used to examine theories of creativity through a review of recent studies on creativity. Creativity-related studies published between 2000 and 2019 were retrieved from the SCOPUS database. A total of 172 papers were chosen for further analysis. Content analysis shows that research on creativity using RAT mainly concerns remote association, insight problem-solving, general creative process, test development, individual difference, effect of treatment, clinical case, social interaction effect, and predictor or criterion. The study constructs a theoretical framework based on the 4P (Product–Person–Process–Place) model and demonstrates how empirical studies using the RAT explore the individual differences, internal processes, and external influences of creative thinking. In addition, the most commonly used version of the RAT is the Compound Remote Associates Problems (Bowden and Jung-Beeman, 2003a). Current research shows a trend whereby the creative thinking process has been receiving greater attention. In particular, a growing number of studies in this field have been carried out using cognitive neuroscience technologies. These findings suggest that the RAT provides researchers with a way to deepen their understanding of different levels of creativity.

Neurocognitive, social cognitive, and clinical predictors of creativity in schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Creativity is considered an essential human accomplishment and a key component for daily life problem solving. It has been suggested that impairment in working memory, cognitive flexibility, and theory of mind could lead to lower creativity in schizophrenia. Additionally, other neurocognitive and social cognitive domains, as well as clinical symptoms could play a role in this relationship. However, the extent to which each of these domains influences creativity in schizophrenia remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to simultaneously investigate the specific contribution of neurocognitive, social cognitive, and clinical variables to creativity in schizophrenia.

METHODS

One hundred and one patients with schizophrenia were assessed in terms of sociodemographic, clinical, neurocognitive, social cognitive, and creativity variables.

RESULTS

After controlling for sociodemographic variables, regression analyses showed that higher social perception (β = 0.286, p = .004) and processing speed (β = 0.219, p = .023) predicted creativity total score. Higher social perception (β = 0.298, p = .002) and processing speed (β = 0.277, p = .004) explained figural creativity. Finally, lower negative symptoms (β = -0.302, p = .002) and higher social perception (β = 0.210, p = .029) predicted verbal creativity.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that neurocognitive, social cognitive, as well as clinical symptoms influence creativity of patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, these findings point out the prominent role of social cognition in creativity in schizophrenia.