Abstract
Insight is described as the sudden solution of a problem and is contrasted with an analytical, step-by-step approach. Traditionally, insight is thought to be associated with activity of the right hemisphere, whereas analytical solutions are thought to be associated with activity of the left hemisphere. However, empirical evidence as to the localization of insight-related brain activity is mixed and inconclusive. Some studies seem to confirm the traditional view, whereas others do not. Moreover, results of EEG and fMRI studies frequently contradict each other. In this study, EEG and fMRI data were recorded while subjects performed the remote association test and for each solved problem were asked to report whether the solution was reached analytically or insightfully. The data were analyzed in a 16-second fragment preceding the subject’s response. Source localization techniques were used in the analysis of EEG data. Based on EEG data, insightful as compared to analytical problem solving was accompanied by high-frequency synchronization in semantic cortical areas of the left hemisphere 10–12 s before the subject’s response. Based on fMRI data, however, insightful solutions were accompanied by increased activity in frontal and temporal regions of the right hemisphere. The results are interpreted in terms of different cognitive processes involved in insightful problem solving, which could be differently reflected in EEG and fMRI data.
Highlights
Insight is described as a feeling of sudden comprehension that can point to the solution to a problem [1,2,3]
According to Wallace’s theory, the process of the emergence of a creative idea goes through four stages–preparation, incubation, insight, and verification [6]
Sixty-three undergraduate and postgraduate students and staff members participated in the EEG study (31 females, mean age 26.3, SD 10.3, all right-handed) and 10 subjects participated in the fMRI study (4 females, mean age 29, SD 2, all right-handed)
Summary
Insight is described as a feeling of sudden comprehension that can point to the solution to a problem [1,2,3] This feeling is usually accompanied by confidence in the correctness of the solution and often really indicates the correct answer, occasionally the insight solution might be incorrect [4]. As Dietrich and Kanso [8] put it, “the prospect of looking for creativity in the brain must seem like trying to nail jelly to the wall” This is probably why the existing data on fMRI and EEG correlates of insight are quite contradictory. On the contrary, indicate the special role of the left hemispheric brain regions, in particular the left STG, both in the occurrence of insight and in other stages of creative thinking [19]
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