The contribution of the lesion approach to the neuroscience of creative cognition

Abstract

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Divergent Thinking Abilities in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Mini-Review

“…Higher creative abilities have been correlated to the ability to overcome knowledge constraints imposed by the semantic knowledge structure (Abraham et al, 2012), to inhibit prepotent (Edl et al, 2014) and automatic responses (Gupta et al, 2012), to update and integrate old and new information (Zabelina et al, 2019), to use flexible cognitive control (Zabelina and Robinson, 2010), depending on the goals and the characteristics of a given task (Chrysikou et al, 2013), and to conduct a "goal-directed memory retrieval" (i.e., "the ability to strategically search episodic and semantic memory for task-relevant information": Beaty et al, 2019, p. 22). Notably, these findings are also consistent with neuroimaging reviews and meta-analyses (i.e., Gonen-Yaacovi et al, 2013;Boccia et al, 2015;Wu et al, 2015), neuromodulation data (i.e., Colombo et al, 2015) and with clinical findings (Abraham et al, 2012;de Souza et al, 2014): all together these studies support the pivotal role of frontal regions and specifically of the executive network (EN, Beaty et al, 2016;Ovando-Tellez et al, 2019). Furthermore, an interplay between the DMN, which supports idea generation and association, and the EN, which is involved in guiding, constraining, and adapting DN processes to meet creative task goals (Beaty et al, 2019) is considered pivotal during the performance of DT tasks (Beaty et al, 2016), even in older people (Adnan et al, 2019).…”

“…Moreover, proved dissociable contributions of episodic and semantic memory processes to creative cognition, suggesting that distinct regions within the default mode network (DMN) that is usually associated with spontaneous and self-generated thought, support specific memory-related processes during DT. In addition, researchers confirmed the involvement of both the Semantic Control Network (SCN, Noonan et al, 2013), which is considered pivotal for flexible retrieval of stored knowledge (Cogdell-Brooke et al, 2020) and the DMN (Beaty et al, 2016(Beaty et al, , 2018 during DT tasks, highlighting their pivotal role in creative cognition, even if their specific interaction remains to be clarified (Ovando-Tellez et al, 2019).…”

“…It has been recognized as a measure of the "creative potential" (Runco and Acar, 2012) and as a valid indicator of real-world creative achievements (Jauk et al, 2014). In this vein, the assessment of DT skills in FTD patients, who are characterized by specific anatomical and behavioral alterations, might be useful to better understand the neural substrates of creative cognition (Ovando-Tellez et al, 2019).…”

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

“…Other studies have specifically demonstrated the important role of dissociation ability and associative combination in creative thinking ( 2 – 4 , 15 , 16 ). In addition, in brain-damaged patients, rigid semantic associations were associated with poor creative abilities ( 17 , 18 ). Associative thinking has been related to creative abilities as measured within several existing frameworks, such as divergent thinking ( 2 – 4 , 8 , 19 ), insight problem solving ( 6 ), and analogical reasoning ( 20 ), as well as to creative achievements in real life ( 11 , 15 , 21 ).…”

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

“…In support of this theory, several studies found that more creative individuals are able to link distant concepts more easily (8)(9)(10), have less common or constrained word associations, and a more flexible organization of semantic memory (9,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). In addition, in brain-damaged patients, rigid semantic associations were associated with poor creative abilities (16)(17)(18). Associative thinking has been related to creative abilities as measured within several existing frameworks, such as divergent thinking (8,9,14,(19)(20)(21), insight problem solving (7,22), analogical reasoning (23,24), as well as to creative achievements in real life (25)(26)(27)(28).…”