Convergent creative thinking performance is associated with white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study - ScienceDirect

Convergent creative thinking performance is associated with white matter structures: Evidence from a large sample study - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920300641

Abstract

In laboratory settings, creativity is measured using tasks of divergent as well as convergent thinking. It has been suggested that brain connectivity is important for creativity. In the present study, we investigated the associations of convergent thinking performance of compound Remote Associates Test (CRAT) with fractional anisotropy (FA) in diffusion tensor imaging and regional white matter (WM) volume (rWMV) in voxel-based morphometry in a large sample of healthy young adults (360 males and 280 females; mean age: 20.9 years, SD = 1.6). We showed that CRAT performance was positively correlated with WM pathway property (i.e., FA) in the left fronto-occipital fasciculus and the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, which play important roles in processing of language and concept. Further, CRAT performance was negatively correlated with rWMV in the widespread frontal temporal subcortical and cerebellar WM areas, suggesting the unique association of convergent thinking with WM connectivity.

Keywords

Convergent thinking

Remote associates

Structural connectivity

Voxel-based morphometry

Diffusion tensor imaging

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD

Educational & School Psychologist

Director

Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)

https://www.themindhub.com

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