title: Creativity and the brain: uncovering the neural signature of conceptual expansion.
abstract: Neurophysiological studies of creativity thus far have not allowed for clear conclusions to be made regarding the specific neural underpinnings of such complex cognition due to overgeneralizations concerning the creativity construct, heterogeneity in the type of creativity tasks used, and the questionable efficacy of the employed comparison tasks. A novel experimental design was developed in the present fMRI study which rendered it possible to investigate a critical facet of creative cognition - that of conceptual expansion - as distinct from general divergent thinking, working memory, or cognitive load. Brain regions involved in the retention, retrieval and integration of conceptual knowledge such as the anterior inferior frontal gyrus, the temporal poles and the lateral frontopolar cortex were found to be selectively involved during conceptual expansion. The findings go against generic ideas that argue for the dominance of the right hemisphere during creative thinking and indicate the necessity to reconsider the functions of regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex to include more abstract facets of cognitive control. This study represents a new direction in the investigation of creativity in that it highlights the necessity to adopt a process based perspective in which the multifaceted nature of creativity can be truly grasped.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Otto-Behagel-Strasse 10F, D-35394 Giessen, Germany. annaabr@gmail.com
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: Karoline
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pieritz
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thybusch
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kröger
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schweckendiek
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Windmann
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hermann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D003405:Creativity; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*