Changes in semantic memory structure support successful problem-solving and analogical transfer.

Creative problem-solving is central in daily life, yet its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Restructuring (i.e., reorganization of problem-related representations) is considered one problem-solving mechanism and may lead to an abstract problem-related representation facilitating the solving of analogous problems. Here, we used network science methodology to estimate participants' semantic memory networks (SemNets) before and after attempting to solve a riddle. Restructuring was quantified as the difference in SemNets metrics between pre- and post-solving phases. Our results provide initial evidence that problem-related SemNets restructuring may be associated with the successful solving of the riddle and, subsequently, an analogous one. Solution-relevant concepts and semantically remote concepts became more strongly related in solvers. Only changes in semantically remote concepts were instrumental in actively solving the riddle while changes in solution-relevant concepts may reflect a pre-exposure to the solution.

Impaired creative cognition after surgery for an IDH-mutated glioma: A proof-of-concept study.

Assessment of high cognitive functions, such as creativity, is often overlooked in medical practice. However, it is crucial to understand the impact of brain tumors, specifically low-grade gliomas, on creative cognition, as these tumors predominantly affect brain regions associated with cognitive creativity. In this study, we investigated creative cognition using the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) and the Combination of Associates Task (CAT) in a cohort of 29 patients who underwent brain surgery for a low-grade glioma, along with 27 control participants. While the group of patients did not exhibit deficits in clinical neuropsychological assessments, our results revealed significant impairment in generating original and creative ideas compared to the control group. Furthermore, when analyzing the specific brain regions affected by the tumors, patients with lesions overlapping the left rostro-lateral prefrontal cortex, a critical region for creativity, displayed more pronounced impairments in the CAT compared to patients with lesions outside this region. These findings provide proof of concept that patients can experience impaired creative cognition following surgery for low-grade glioma, highlighting the importance of assessing higher-order cognitive functions, including creativity, in neurosurgical patients. Moreover, beyond its clinical relevance, our study contributes to advancing our understanding of the neuroscience of creativity.

How subjective idea valuation energizes and guides creative idea generation.

What drives us to search for creative ideas, and why does it feel good to find one? While previous studies demonstrated the positive influence of motivation on creative abilities, how reward and subjective values play a role in creativity remains unknown. This study proposes to characterize the role of individual preferences (how people value ideas) in creative ideation via behavioral experiments and computational modeling. Using the Free Generation of Associates Task coupled with rating tasks, we demonstrate the involvement of valuation processes during idea generation: Preferred ideas are provided faster. We found that valuation depends on the adequacy and originality of ideas and guides response selection and creativity. Finally, our computational model correctly predicts the speed and quality of human creative responses, as well as interindividual differences in creative abilities. Altogether, this model introduces the mechanistic role of valuation in creativity. It paves the way for a neurocomputational account of creativity mechanisms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Time course of EEG power during creative problem-solving with insight or remote thinking.

Problem-solving often requires creativity and is critical in everyday life. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative problem-solving remain poorly understood. Two mechanisms have been highlighted: the formation of new connections among problem elements and insight solving, characterized by sudden realization of a solution. In this study, we investigated EEG activity during a modified version of the remote associates test, a classical insight problem task that requires finding a word connecting three unrelated words. This allowed us to explore the brain correlates associated with the semantic remoteness of connections (by varying the remoteness of the solution word across trials) and with insight solving (identified as a Eurêka moment reported by the participants). Semantic remoteness was associated with power increase in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) in a left parieto-temporal cluster, the beta band (13-30 Hz) in a right fronto-temporal cluster in the early phase of the task, and the theta band (3-7 Hz) in a bilateral frontal cluster just prior to participants' responses. Insight solving was associated with power increase preceding participants' responses in the alpha and gamma (31-60 Hz) bands in a left temporal cluster and the theta band in a frontal cluster. Source reconstructions revealed the brain regions associated with these clusters. Overall, our findings shed new light on some of the mechanisms involved in creative problem-solving.

An investigation of the cognitive and neural correlates of semantic memory search related to creative ability.

Creative ideas likely result from searching and combining semantic memory knowledge, yet the mechanisms acting on memory to yield creative ideas remain unclear. Here, we identified the neurocognitive correlates of semantic search components related to creative abilities. We designed an associative fluency task based on polysemous words and distinguished two search components related to clustering and switching between the different meanings of the polysemous words. Clustering correlated with divergent thinking, while switching correlated with the ability to combine remote associates. Furthermore, switching correlated with semantic memory structure and executive abilities, and was predicted by connectivity between the default, control, and salience neural networks. In contrast, clustering relied on interactions between control, salience, and attentional neural networks. Our results suggest that switching captures interactions between memory structure and control processes guiding the search whereas clustering may capture attentional controlled processes for persistent search, and that alternations between exploratory search and focused attention support creativity.

Through Thick and Thin: Changes in Creativity During the First Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 took us by surprise. We all had to face the lockdown and pandemic that put us in a new context, changing our way of life, work conditions, and habits. Coping with such an unprecedented situation may have stimulated creativity. However, the situation also restricted our liberties and triggered health or psychological difficulties. We carried out an online survey (n = 380) to examine whether and how the COVID-19 related first lockdown period was associated with creativity changes in French speaking population. Despite a global negative subjective experience of the situation, participants reported that they were more creative during the lockdown than before. Positive changes were linked with more time availability, more motivation, or the need to solve a problem while negative changes were related to negative affective feelings or a lack of resources or opportunities. This study documents the effects of the first lockdown period on creativity and the factors that influenced it.

Brain connectivity-based prediction of real-life creativity is mediated by semantic memory structure.

Associative theories of creativity argue that creative cognition involves the abilities to generate remote associations and make useful connections between unrelated concepts in one's semantic memory. Yet, whether and how real-life creative behavior relies on semantic memory structure and its neural substrates remains unclear. We acquired multi-echo functional magnetic resonance imaging data while participants underwent a semantic relatedness judgment task. These ratings were used to estimate their individual semantic memory networks, whose properties significantly predicted their real-life creativity. Using a connectome predictive modeling approach, we identified patterns of task-based functional connectivity that predicted creativity-related semantic memory network properties. Furthermore, these properties mediated the relationship between functional connectivity and real-life creativity. These results provide new insights into how brain connectivity patterns support real-life creative behavior via the structure of semantic memory. We also show how computational network science can be used to couple behavioral, cognitive, and neural levels of analysis.

Does adding <i>beer</i> to <i>coffee</i> enhance the activation of <i>drinks</i>? An ERP study of semantic category priming.

Categorization - whether of objects, ideas, or events - is a cognitive process that is essential for human thinking, reasoning, and making sense of everyday experiences. Categorization abilities are typically measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) similarity subtest, which consists of naming the shared category of two items (e.g., 'How are beer and coffee alike'). Previous studies show that categorization, as measured by similarity tasks, requires executive control functions. However, other theories and studies indicate that semantic memory is organized into taxonomic and thematic categories that can be activated implicitly in semantic priming tasks. To explore whether categories can be primed during a similarity task, we developed a double semantic priming paradigm. We measured the priming effect of two primes on a target word that was taxonomically or thematically related to both primes (double priming) or only one of them (single priming). Our results show a larger and additive priming effect in the double priming condition compared to the single priming condition, as measured by both response times and, more consistently, event-related potentials. Our results support the view that taxonomic and thematic categorization can occur during a double priming task and contribute to improving our knowledge on the organization of semantic memory into categories. These findings show how abstract categories can be activated, which likely shapes the way we think and interact with our environment. Our study also provides a new cognitive tool that could be useful to understand the categorization difficulties of neurological patients.