A comprehensive approach to study the resting-state brain network related to creative potential

Abstract

Studies related to creativity generally investigate brain activity at rest using raw scores from only one creative task. However, considering all the factors that can impact the creative product, we believe that the creative potential of individuals must be evaluated to identify the associated resting-state brain networks. Moreover, studying the brain functional connectivity related to creativity processes should be considered in conjunction with cognitive functioning as both are composite phenomena. To test this assumption, in this exploratory study, we differentiated high-and low-creativity potential people with a cognitive functioning approach using structural equation modeling assuming an influence of working memory (WM) and analytical thinking on creativity assessed by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Then, we examined brain functional connectivity at rest and found that highly creative people had increased connectivity in the attentional network (AN), the default-mode network (DMN) and a decrease in the salience network (SN). Our findings highlight the involvement of the AN, which is very scarcely mentioned in the literature. We therefore linked this network to creative potential, which is consistent with cognitive theories suggesting that creativity is underpinned by attentional processes. Furthermore, studying creativity with an approach based on a model of cognitive functioning seems more consistent with how connectivity data are processed.

Problem-solving training modifies cognitive functioning and related functional connectivity in healthy adults

“…In this study, we wanted to situate our intervention ahead of creative thinking, i.e., by acting on executive processes that will generate creative thinking. In a previous study (Deshayes et al, 2021), we showed that subjects with high creative potential show a positive correlation between working memory and creativity that we do not find in subjects with low creative potential. We believe that a focus on executive mechanisms that support creative thinking, some of them being involved in working memory, and on executive strategies could promote creative thinking use in a variety of contexts.…”

Influence of Analytic Processing on Divergent and Convergent Thinking Tasks: The Role of Rational and Experiential Thinking Styles

“…For divergent thinking, the results showed that the analytic processing priming group performed lower fluency and flexibility scores than the control group, in line with Deshayes et al ( 2021 ). The divergent thinking task process allows people to generate as many responses (ideas, solutions) as possible under relatively weak constraints, and under this premise, lower levels of cognitive control may facilitate individuals to quickly “jump” from one idea to another ( Hommel et al 2011 ) and help allow more unfiltered information to enter the processing stage, thereby facilitating the generation of more divergent ideas ( Radel et al 2015 ).…”

“…A growing number of researchers have studied the relationship between analytic processing and creativity, but their findings vary widely ( Pennycook et al 2015 ). For example, some studies have shown a significant negative correlation between analytic processing and creativity ( Deshayes et al 2021 ), suggesting that analytic processing may be detrimental to a person’s ability to generate original ideas ( Nijstad et al 2010 ). However, other studies have shown that rational thinking can significantly and positively predict individual performance on verbal and figural creativity tasks ( Palmiero et al 2020 ).…”

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Creative Potential Traits

“…Creativity can be identified as a capacity that allows generating products that have originality and value ( Runco and Jaeger, 2012 ; Diedrich et al, 2015 ; Corazza, 2016 ; Romo, 2019 ). There is evidence indicating that this capacity has biological ( Sawyer, 2011 ; Penagos-Corzo, 2018 ; Deshayes et al, 2021 ), motivational ( de Jesus et al, 2013 ; Liu et al, 2016 ; Taylor and Kaufman, 2021 ), affective ( Baas et al, 2008 , 2011 ; Mielniczuk and Laguna, 2020 ) and cognitive components ( Benedek et al, 2014 ; Sampedro and Peña, 2019 ; Milicevic et al, 2020 ) that can enhance it. In addition to these components, some personality characteristics or traits have been associated with creativity practically since the contemporary beginning of its study ( Guilford, 1950 ; MacKinnon, 1963 ) and in influential later works ( Eysenck, 1993 , 1994 ; MacKinnon, 1975/2017 ).…”