A New Measure of Imagination Ability: Anatomical Brain Imaging Correlates
- 1Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- 2Department of Neurosurgery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- 3Hunter Higgs, LLC, Boston, MA, USA
Imagination involves episodic memory retrieval, visualization, mental
simulation, spatial navigation, and future thinking, making it a
complex cognitive construct. Prior studies of imagination have attempted
to study various elements of imagination (e.g., visualization), but
none have attempted to capture the entirety of imagination ability in a
single instrument. Here we describe the Hunter Imagination Questionnaire
(HIQ), an instrument designed to assess imagination over an extended
period of time, in a naturalistic manner. We hypothesized that the HIQ
would be related to measures of creative achievement and to a network of
brain regions previously identified to be important to
imagination/creative abilities. Eighty subjects were administered the
HIQ in an online format; all subjects were administered a broad battery
of tests including measures of intelligence, personality, and aptitude,
as well as structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI). Responses of
the HIQ were found to be normally distributed, and exploratory factor
analysis yielded four factors. Internal consistency of the HIQ ranged
from 0.76 to 0.79, and two factors (“Implementation” and “Learning”)
were significantly related to measures of Creative Achievement
(Scientific—
r = 0.26 and Writing—
r = 0.31, respectively),
suggesting concurrent validity. We found that the HIQ and its factors
were related to a broad network of brain volumes including increased
bilateral hippocampi, lingual gyrus, and caudal/rostral middle frontal
lobe, and decreased volumes within the nucleus accumbens and regions
within the default mode network (e.g., precuneus, posterior cingulate,
transverse temporal lobe). The HIQ was found to be a reliable and valid
measure of imagination in a cohort of normal human subjects, and was
related to brain volumes previously identified as central to imagination
including episodic memory retrieval (e.g., hippocampus). We also
identified compelling evidence suggesting imagination ability linked to
decreased volumes involving the nucleus accumbens and regions within the
default mode network. Future research will be important to assess the
stability of this instrument in different populations, as well as the
complex interaction between imagination and creativity in the human
brain.
Rex E. Jung
Ranee A. Flores
Dan Hunter
