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Originality of divergent thinking is associated with working memory–related brain activity: Evidence from a large sample study

Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The originality of creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) is a unique variable that is positively correlated with psychometric intelligence and other psychological measures. Here, we aimed to determine the associations of CMDT originality/fluency scores and brain activity associated with working memory (WM) and simple cognitive processes during the N-back paradigm in a cohort of 1221 young adults. We observed that originality/fluency scores were associated with greater brain activity during the 0-back simple cognitive task and 2-back WM task in key nodes of the ventral attention system in the right hemisphere. Further, subjects with higher originality/fluency scores showed lower task-induced deactivations in areas of the default mode network, especially during the 2-back task. Psychological analyses revealed the associations of originality/fluency scores with both psychometric intelligence and systemizing. We also observed the effects of interaction between sex and originality/fluency scores on functional activity during the 0-back task in posterior parts of the default mode network together with other areas as well as simple processing speed. These results indicate that the originality of CMDT is associated with (a) greater activation of the ventral attention system, which is involved in reorienting attention and (b) reduced task-induced deactivation of the default mode network, which is indicative of alterations in attentional reallocation, and (c) cognitive correlates of originality of CMDT and revealed sex differences in these associations.
Source: NeuroImage
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116825
Authors: Hikaru Takeuchi, Yasuyuki Taki, Rui Nouchi, Ryoichi Yokoyama, Yuka Kotozaki, Seishu Nakagawa, Atsushi Sekiguchi, Kunio Iizuka, Sugiko Hanawa, Tsuyoshi Araki, Carlos Makoto Miyauchi, Kohei Sakaki, Yuko Sassa, Takayuki Nozawa, Shigeyuki Ikeda, Susumu Yokota, Daniele Magistro, Ryuta Kawashima
Institutions: Tohoku University, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Smart-Aging Research Center, Tohoku University, Kobe University, Fukushima Medical University, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Advantage Risk Management Co., Ltd. (Japan), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kyushu University, Nottingham Trent University
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Funders: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tohoku University, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society
Awards: G1198936048, G1361811172, Neural and genetic bases of higher cognitive functions and their plasticity, G2134920458, Higher order cognitive functions and their neural bases, and genetic, environmental and physical factors that affect them, G3387396954, G5925594931, G598951090, G6297257040, G6331938403, G6718509927, G7950349872
OpenAlex ID: W3017985437
FWCI: 4.319
Cites: 110
Cited by: 37
Related to: 10