Network connectivity of the creative brain: Current knowledge and future directions

Abstract

Creativity is an important manifestation of human wisdom and is generally defined as the ability to generate something both novel and useful. Emerging evidence suggests that the complex cognitive processes of creative thinking involve the interaction of multiple brain regions and networks and may not depend on the specific function of a single brain region. The study of the human connectome provides a chance to reveal the brain network basis of creativity, and the focus in the neural mechanisms of creativity has gradually expanded from the local region to the brain network. A growing number of functional brain network studies have shown a consistent pattern of functional network connectivity underlying creativity that has been characterized by interactions between the default mode network, the salience network, and the fronto-parietal control network. Dynamic functional connectivity analysis further suggested that the coupling of the network hubs dynamically changes at different stages of creative thinking. The spontaneous neural activity of the creative brain has also been characterized by flexibility and variability, even during the resting state. On the other hand, evidence from brain lesion research has confirmed that the default mode network and the fronto-parietal control network are responsible for different aspects of creative cognitive abilities, such as the generation of remote associates and the combination of remote associates. According to the dual-process theory of creative thinking, researchers have suggested that the default mode network retrieves and extracts novel information from the semantic and episodic memory systems through spontaneous associations. The fronto-parietal control network assesses and selects current views according to specific task goals. Moreover, the salience network may be responsible for the flexible switching between the default mode network and the fronto-parietal control network based on the novelty of the associative content. Future research needs to continuously integrate data resources to identify the main components of creativity and to develop advanced assessment tools with more ecological validity, which is a critical and fundamental endeavor for scientific research on creativity. Equally important, it is necessary to combine multimodal brain imaging to provide new insight into the dynamic collaborative mode of functional networks and the specific role of structural networks in creative thinking that would contribute to deepening the understanding of the cognitive processes and neural mechanisms of creativity. In addition, due to the poor predictive power of single modality data, future studies could take advantage of multi-omics and multimodal data to achieve the goal of accurate prediction and assessment of individuals’ creativity. Furthermore, it is important to explore how to improve individuals’ creative abilities and develop effective promotion methods, such as cognitive training and neuromodulation. Although specific interventions have led to some improvements in individuals’ creativity, the dynamic underlying neural mechanisms of brain plasticity during the intervention are not clear and should be addressed in the future.