[Motivation effect on frequency-spatial characteristics of figural and verbal creativity: coherence changes in biopotentials].

Effect of extrinsic motivation stimulating the most original problem solving during verbal and figural creativity testing was studied using the EEG coherence in the range of 4-30 Hz. The right-handed university students (27 males and 26 females) participated in the experiments. The instruction "to create the most original solution" (INS2) as compared to the instruction "to create any solution" (INS1) produced an increase in baseline coherence and task-related desynchronization in the alphal2 bands. This effect was more pronounced in the anterior cortex. Changes in the beta2 rhythm were found mostly in the posterior cortex and were presented by a decreased task-induced beta2 synchronization after INS2 vs. INS1. Instruction-related coherence changes in the alphal band did not depend on factors of gender and task type, whereas the effects of these factors on the alpha2 and beta2 bands were significant. Gender differences in instruction-related coherence changes were found in the alpha2 band during verbal creativity testing, whereas figural creativity was associated with gender-dependent instruction-related changes in the beta2 band. These differences were more pronounced in the INS1 condition. The results demonstrate that extrinsic motivation of creative thinking promotes the frequency-specific reorganization of hemispheric interactions. High-frequency widespread cortical oscillations are of greater significance in men, whereas low-frequency rhythms and, mainly, functioning of the frontal cortex greatly contribute to creative activity in women.