Abstract
Creative cognition is thought to involve two processes, the creation of new ideas and the selection and retention of suitable new ideas. Neuroimaging studies suggest that the Default Mode Network contributes to the creation of new ideas while left inferior frontal and parieto-temporal cortical networks mediate the selection/retention process. Higher levels of activity in the selection/retention have been shown to be associated with stricter criteria for selection and hence the expression of fewer novel ideas. In this study, we examined the brain functional connectivity correlates of an originality score while 27 males and 27 females performed a low and a high demand visual vigilance task. Brain functional connectivity was estimated from the steady state visual evoked potential event related partial coherence. In the male group, we observed a hypothesized left frontal functional connectivity that was negatively correlated with originality in both tasks. By contrast, in the female group no significant correlation between functional connectivity and originality was observed in either task. We interpret the findings to suggest that males and females engaged different functional networks when performing the vigilance tasks. We conclude with a consideration of the possible risks when data pooling across sex in studies of higher cortical function.
Highlights
Creative cognition is thought to involve two processes, the creation of new ideas and the selection and retention of suitable new ideas
Studies have suggested that a specific cortical network, known as the Default Mode Network (DMN) may mediate the principal role in the generation of new ideas, irrespective of their suitability while a ‘cognitive control’ network centred on the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus and the left parieto temporal region is principally responsible for the process of evaluation and selective retention of novel ideas[2,3,4,5]
The individual originality measure (Or) that was correlated with functional connectivity (FC) was based on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA) Originality Score (OS) divided by the Fluency Score (FS), ie Or = OS/FS
Summary
Creative cognition is thought to involve two processes, the creation of new ideas and the selection and retention of suitable new ideas. In an earlier study examining the brain functional connectivity correlates of the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA)[6] creativity score while participants performed the AX version of the continuous performance task (CPT-AX) we observed a parieto-frontal FC component that exhibited DMN like behaviour[7]. We found that this component was positively correlated with the ATTA creativity score in both the male and female groups we observed sex differences in the hemispheric asymmetry and timing of these FC components[7]. Higher levels of left IFG were found to be associated with more conservative criteria for acceptance of new ideas and a reduction in the number of novel ideas produced while lower levels of left IFG activity were associated with an increased number of novel
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