title: Gray matter density in relation to different facets of verbal creativity.
abstract: Neuroscience studies on creativity have revealed highly variegated findings that often seem to be inconsistent. As recently argued in Fink and Benedek (Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 2012), this might be primarily due to the broad diversity in defining and measuring creativity as well as to the diversity of experimental procedures and methodologies used in this field of research. In specifically focusing on one measure of brain activation and on the well-established process of creative ideation (i.e., divergent thinking), EEG studies revealed a quite consistent and replicable pattern of right-lateralized brain activity over posterior parietal and occipital sites. In this study, we related regional gray matter density (as assessed by means of voxel-based morphometry) to different facets of psychometrically determined verbal creativity in a sample of 71 participants. Results revealed that verbal creativity was significantly and positively associated with gray matter density in clusters involving the right cuneus and the right precuneus. Enhanced gray matter density in these regions may be indicative of vivid imaginative abilities in more creative individuals. These findings complement existing functional studies on creative ideation which are, taken as a whole, among the most consistent findings in this field.
authors: Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitaetsplatz 2/III, 8010, Graz, Austria, andreas.fink@uni-graz.at.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Fink
authors: Karl
authors: K
authors: Koschutnig
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Hutterer
authors: Elisabeth
authors: E
authors: Steiner
authors: Mathias
authors: M
authors: Benedek
authors: Bernhard
authors: B
authors: Weber
authors: Gernot
authors: G
authors: Reishofer
authors: Ilona
authors: I
authors: Papousek
authors: Elisabeth M
authors: EM
authors: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003405:Creativity; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D010551:Personality; D011594:Psychometrics; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult