Creativity and the default network: A functional connectivity analysis of the creative brain at rest☆

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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.

Highlights

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Participants completed divergent thinking tasks and resting-state fMRI
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Higher creative ability was related to greater rs-fc in the IFG and default network
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Seed-to-voxel analysis further revealed greater rs-fc in the IFG and DLPFC
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Controlled and spontaneous processes may cooperate more in the creative brain

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Most cited references 63

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During performance of attention-demanding cognitive tasks, certain regions of the brain routinely increase activity, whereas others routinely decrease activity. In this study, we investigate the extent to which this task-related dichotomy is represented intrinsically in the resting human brain through examination of spontaneous fluctuations in the functional MRI blood oxygen level-dependent signal. We identify two diametrically opposed, widely distributed brain networks on the basis of both spontaneous correlations within each network and anticorrelations between networks. One network consists of regions routinely exhibiting task-related activations and the other of regions routinely exhibiting task-related deactivations. This intrinsic organization, featuring the presence of anticorrelated networks in the absence of overt task performance, provides a critical context in which to understand brain function. We suggest that both task-driven neuronal responses and behavior are reflections of this dynamic, ongoing, functional organization of the brain.

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Two functionally distinct, and potentially competing, brain networks have been recently identified that can be broadly distinguished by their contrasting roles in attention to the external world versus internally directed mentation involving long-term memory. At the core of these two networks are the dorsal attention system and the hippocampal-cortical memory system, a component of the brain's default network. Here spontaneous blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal correlations were used in three separate functional magnetic resonance imaging data sets (n = 105) to define a third system, the frontoparietal control system, which is spatially interposed between these two previously defined systems. The frontoparietal control system includes many regions identified as supporting cognitive control and decision-making processes including lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and inferior parietal lobule. Detailed analysis of frontal and parietal cortex, including use of high-resolution data, revealed clear evidence for contiguous but distinct regions: in general, the regions associated with the frontoparietal control system are situated between components of the dorsal attention and hippocampal-cortical memory systems. The frontoparietal control system is therefore anatomically positioned to integrate information from these two opposing brain systems.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Roger E. Beaty

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Neuropsychologia

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Neuropsychologia

Title: Neuropsychologia

Publisher: Pergamon Press

ISSN (Print): 0028-3932

ISSN (Electronic): 1873-3514

Publication date PMC-release: 1 November 2014

Publication date (Print): November 2014

Volume: 64

Pages: 92-98

Affiliations

[a ]Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA

[b ]Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria

[c ]Music Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA

[d ]Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, Greensboro, USA

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding author. rebeaty@ 123456uncg.edu

Article

Publisher ID: S0028-3932(14)00324-8

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.09.019

PMC ID: 4410786

PubMed ID: 25245940

SO-VID: 55bb3351-9683-4f2c-a79a-61d3ce2a8b90

History

Date received : 10 May 2014

Date revision received : 10 September 2014

Date accepted : 11 September 2014

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