Sex differences in the relationship between white matter connectivity and creativity

Abstract

Creative cognition emerges from a complex network of interacting brain regions. This study investigated the relationship between the structural organization of the human brain and aspects of creative cognition tapped by divergent thinking tasks. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was used to obtain fiber tracts from 83 segmented cortical regions. This information was represented as a network and metrics of connectivity organization, including connectivity strength, clustering and communication efficiency were computed, and their relationship to individual levels of creativity was examined. Permutation testing identified significant sex differences in the relationship between global connectivity and creativity as measured by divergent thinking tests. Females demonstrated significant inverse relationships between global connectivity and creative cognition, whereas there were no significant relationships observed in males. Node specific analyses revealed inverse relationships across measures of connectivity, efficiency, clustering and creative cognition in widespread regions in females. Our findings suggest that females involve more regions of the brain in processing to produce novel ideas to solutions, perhaps at the expense of efficiency (greater path lengths). Males, in contrast, exhibited few, relatively weak positive relationships across these measures. Extending recent observations of sex differences in connectome structure, our findings of sexually dimorphic relationships suggest a unique topological organization of connectivity underlying the generation of novel ideas in males and females.

Gender and creativity: an overview of psychological and neuroscientific literature

“…The structural neuroimaging study revealed gender differences in the pattern of white mater connectivity between brain regions, particularly within the default mode and cognitive control networks, as a function of creative ability (Ryman et al, 2014). High creativity in females was correlated with lower connectivity and efficiency together with clustering across several brain areas, whereas high creativity among males was associated with greater connectivity and efficiency alongside clustering in fewer brain regions.…”

“…To date, only two EEG studies (Fink & Neubauer, 2006;Razumnikova, 2004), one structural neuroimaging study (Ryman et al, 2014), and one functional neuroimaging study (Abraham, Thybusch, Pieritz, & Hermann, 2014) have been published which specifically addressed the question of gender based brain-related differences in creativity. Fink and Neubauer (2006) found that despite no behavioral differences surfaced between the sexes on the measure of originality, males and females of different verbal ability significantly differed with respect to task-related synchronization of EEG alpha activity in anterior regions of the cortex.…”

Creative females have larger white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study

“…Another study showed that during divergent thinking, coupling of the executive control network (the network involved in executive control) and the default mode network is observed. However, a recent study using a larger sample suggested that there are sex differences in the association between white matter structural connectivity and CMDT [Ryman et al, 2014]. The Beaty et al [2015] study also showed that the tendency of "small world" in the network is associated with increased CMDT .…”

Driving the brain towards creativity and intelligence: A network control theory analysis

“…Only a few studies have examined how white matter structural connectivity relates to creative ability (Jung, Grazioplene, Caprihan, Chavez, & Haier, 2010; Jung et al, 2013; Ryman et al, 2014; Takeuchi et al, 2017; Takeuchi et al, 2010, 2011; Wu, Zhong, & Chen, 2016). Takeuchi et al (2010) conducted a diffusion tensor imaging study to examine the relation between white matter integrity (measured with fractional anisotropy) and creative ability.…”