Search

Associative thinking plays a major role in creativity, as it involves the ability to link distant concepts. Yet, the neural mechanisms allowing to combine distant associates in creative thinking tasks remain poorly understood. We investigated the whole-brain functional connectivity patterns related to combining remote associations for creative thinking. Using a connectome predictive modeling approach, we examined whole-brain functional connectivity patterns related to connecting close and distant remote associates in the Combination Association Task (CAT). Brain connectivity networks predicting CAT performance showed contributions from brain functional connectivity mostly related to the Default Mode Network, likely related to associative processes required in all trials of the task. Besides, the functional connectivity pattern of associative remoteness linked to CAT trials also largely involved the Executive Control Network, Dorsal Attention Network and Somatomotor networks, suggesting that more controlled processes played an important role in trials with higher associative remoteness. Critically, the functional connectivity patterns related to higher creative demands of the task share similarities with functional connectivity patterns previously found to predict divergent thinking. Thus, our work potentially offers insights into neural mechanisms that play a role in both convergent and divergent remote thinking.

How creative ideas emerge remains unclear. We designed an associative fluency task based on polysemous words to explore the neurocognitive correlates of semantic search related to creativity. We distinguished two search components by assessing clustering and switching performance from participant’s responses. We related these components to creativity, executive abilities, and semantic memory structure explored via semantic networks, and identified their predictive functional brain connectivity patterns. Clustering correlated with divergent thinking, and relied on interactions between control, salience, and attentional networks. Switching correlated with the ability to combine remote associates, memory structure, and executive abilities, and was predicted by connectivity between and within the default, control, and salience networks. These results suggest that switching captures interactions between memory structure and control processes guiding the search, while clustering may capture controlled processes related to persistent search. These findings shed new light on the neurocognitive mechanisms of semantic search supporting creativity.

While problem-solving is central in our daily life, its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The dominant theory states that one must restructure a problem (i.e., reorganize problem-related representations) to solve it. As empirical evidence supporting this mechanism is scarce, we used network science methodology to demonstrate the key role of restructuring in problem-solving. Individual semantic memory networks were estimated before and after participants attempted to solve a riddle. These networks represent the organization of solution-relevant and irrelevant words as nodes, with edges representing the strength of the relationship between them based on the participants’ relatedness judgments. Restructuring was quantified as the difference in semantic network metrics between pre- and post-solving phases. Successful problem-solving was predicted by local semantic network restructuring, only in edges and nodes assessed as helpful to solve the riddle. These results shed new light on the mental restructuring in problem-solving and provide a new method to quantify it.

Creativity is defined as the ability to produce an object/idea that is both original and appropriate to the context. How originality and appropriateness of production are integrated in creative cognitive processes is not understood. We propose that creativity involves an evaluative component based on individual preferences for appropriateness and originality of candidate ideas stemming from a generative component. Through behavioral experiments inspired by neuroeconomics and using computational modeling, we aimed to characterize this evaluative component. Participants had to generate creative word associations and then rate how much each of their responses was appropriate, original and how much they liked it. We found that the way individuals balanced appropriateness and originality to build a subjective value of their ideas was correlated with creative abilities. These findings provide new insights into how individual preferences can impact creativity.

The Remote Associates Test is a creativity task that consists in finding a word that connects three unrelated words. We examined EEG power in healthy participants performing an adaptation of this task that allowed us to explore two mechanisms: remote semantic combination by varying the associative strength between the cue words and the solution, and the insight phenomenon reported by the subjects. Time-frequency analyses revealed that associative remoteness was associated with early synchronization in alpha and beta bands in laterotemporal and temporoparietal clusters and late frontal activity in the theta band just before the participants found the solution. Insight was associated with synchronization in alpha and gamma bands in inferotemporal clusters and a frontal synchronization in the theta band just preceded the response. Our findings provide new insights on the dynamic mechanisms involved in this verbal creativity task.

The associative theory of creativity proposes that creative ability relies on the organization of semantic memory, yet the relationships between semantic memory structure and brain connectivity, in relation to creativity, remain poorly understood. Here, we explored the relationships between the network properties of individual semantic memory, patterns of functional brain connectivity, and real-life creativity. To this end, we acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging data while participants underwent a semantic relatedness judgment task. Participants’ relatedness ratings between word-pairs were used to estimate their individual semantic networks, whose network properties were significantly related to their real-life creativity. Using a connectome-based predictive modeling approach, we identified patterns of on-task functional connectivity that predicted creativity-related semantic memory network properties in novel individuals. Furthermore, the predicted semantic network properties partially mediated the relationship between functional connectivity and real-life creativity. These results provide new insights on how brain connectivity supports the associative mechanisms of creativity.

The associative theory of creativity suggests that creativeabilities rely on the organization of semantic associations inmemory. Recent research has demonstrated that semanticnetwork methods allow testing this hypothesis. The aim of thecurrent study was to investigate the properties of semanticnetworks at the individual level, in relation to creative abilities.Semantic judgement ratings were used to estimate individualsemantic networks, whose topological properties measured byseveral graph metrics were correlated with individual creativityscores. We found a correlation between the theoretical semanticdistance of our stimuli and the relatedness ratings given by theparticipants, demonstrating the validity of our approach.Importantly, we found a close relationship between creativeabilities assessed by an achievement questionnaire and divergentthinking tasks and individual semantic network metrics,replicating and extending previous similar findings.

Background and Objectives: Cocaine is a highly addictive substance, and with no approved medication for cocaine use disorder (CUD), leading to a heavy burden. Despite validated psychosocial treatments, relapse rates after detoxification are very high in CUD. Few consistent factors can predict abstinence after detoxification. Our study, therefore, aimed at identifying factors predicting abstinence among CUD patients after inpatient detoxification. Methods: Eighty‐one CUD inpatients were included during detoxification and characterized for clinical and sociodemographic data at baseline and at a follow‐up of 3 months after discharge, including a standard measure of their abstinence duration from cocaine. We performed Cox univariate analyzes to determine the factors associated with abstinence maintenance, followed by a multivariate Cox regression to identify independent predictors. Results: Abstinence maintenance was shorter in patients injecting cocaine (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.01–13.27, p <.001) and using cocaine heavily in the month before inclusion (HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00–1.06, p =.046). Conversely, abstinence maintenance was longer in patients with longer inpatient detoxification stays (HR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94–0.99, p =.015) and prescribed with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (HR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.16–0.56, p <.001). Discussion and Conclusions: Patients with severe CUD may require longer inpatient stays to achieve abstinence. Regarding SSRI prescription, more specific studies are needed to provide stronger recommendations about their use in clinical practice. Scientific Significance: Our findings suggest several modifiable factors to improve inpatient treatment response in CUD. As there are no specific recommendations about the optimal duration of inpatient stay, our results could pave the way for evidence‐based guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem‐solving often requires creativity and is critical in everyday life. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative problem‐solving remain poorly understood. Two mechanisms have been highlighted: the formation of new connections among problem elements and insight solving, characterized by sudden realization of a solution. In this study, we investigated EEG activity during a modified version of the remote associates test, a classical insight problem task that requires finding a word connecting three unrelated words. This allowed us to explore the brain correlates associated with the semantic remoteness of connections (by varying the remoteness of the solution word across trials) and with insight solving (identified as a Eurêka moment reported by the participants). Semantic remoteness was associated with power increase in the alpha band (8–12 Hz) in a left parieto‐temporal cluster, the beta band (13–30 Hz) in a right fronto‐temporal cluster in the early phase of the task, and the theta band (3–7 Hz) in a bilateral frontal cluster just prior to participants' responses. Insight solving was associated with power increase preceding participants' responses in the alpha and gamma (31–60 Hz) bands in a left temporal cluster and the theta band in a frontal cluster. Source reconstructions revealed the brain regions associated with these clusters. Overall, our findings shed new light on some of the mechanisms involved in creative problem‐solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]