Unlocking Innovation

Abstract

Creativity and innovation are integral to progress, yet neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative thought remain unclear. This EEG study examined gender differences in brain activation during verbal and figural creative thinking tasks in 20 adults (10M, 10F). Participants completed verbal (Ask-and-Guess, Just Suppose) and figural (Unusual Uses) divergent thinking tasks from the Abbreviated Torrance Test while EEG was recorded. Analyses examined default mode, executive control, and salience network activity across frequency bands. Results revealed subtle gender differences in network activations and interactions during creative ideation. Females exhibited greater frontoparietal coupling, indicating enhanced cognitive flexibility. Males displayed higher default mode synchronization, suggesting greater persistence within an imaginative space. Findings provide initial neural evidence for specialized neurocognitive profiles between genders, with female advantages in flexible divergent thinking and male strengths in focused conceptual exploration.