Poster Session 1
Thursday, May 22 1:00 - 2:00
ICM Lobby
1: Neural Dynamics of Actor-Actress Dyads During Theatrical Creativity
Yoshua E. Lima-Carmona, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Aime J. Aguilar-Herrera, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Esther A. Delgado-Jiménez, IUCRC BRAIN, Tecnologico de Monterrey
Mauricio A. Ramírez-Moreno, IUCRC BRAIN, Tecnologico de Monterrey
Jesus G. Cruz-Garza, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Manuel F. Hendry, Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of the Arts
Jose L. Contreras-Vidal, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
This study investigates shared neural dynamics and brain synchrony patterns in 3 actor-actress dyads during an acted scene, analyzing their cognitive, emotional, physical, and creative engagement. Using mobile brain-body imaging technology and hyperscanning techniques, we captured electroencephalography(EEG), electrooculography, body-head movement, electrodermal activity, and video during 2 rehearsals, including structured practice and improvisation, ending in a public performance.An EEG denoising pipeline, including noise-canceling adaptive filters, was used to ensure signal quality. Data was segmented into No-Gaze(no direct eye contact), and Gaze(direct eye contact between actors) conditions. We examined the learning and creative processes in acting by analyzing how brain synchrony evolves from improvisation in rehearsals to a scripted performance, particularly during gaze/no-gaze interactions. Preliminary results from the performance show that 5 clusters of common dipoles were observed across actors, corresponding to Brodmann Areas 4-18-6-10-21. Bispectrum analysis of transition segments revealed increased neural synchronization during gaze, suggesting that direct eye contact facilitates interpersonal communication and emotional connection between actors. We hypothesize brain synchrony increases from early rehearsal to the final performance as the actors learn and consolidate the internal models of their characters and interaction. These findings provide insights into the complex interpersonal cognitive, emotional, and physical tasks required in acting, shedding light to the understanding of the neural patterns during group creativity and idea generation during acting.
2: Investigating the Causal Role of the Default Mode and Executive Control Networks in Creative Cognition
Mafalda Cardoso-Botelho, Georgetown University
Oded M. Kleinmintz, Georgetown University
Robert Cortes, Georgetown University
Simone Luchini, Pennsylvania State University
DJ Capetilo, Loyola University Chicago
Rachel Abbe, Loyola University Chicago
Kyle Kovich, Loyola University Chicago
Robert Morrison, Loyola University Chicago
Roger Beaty, Pennsylvania State University
Adam E. Green, Georgetown University
Dynamic interactions between the default mode network (DMN) and the executive control network (ECN) have been implicated in creative thinking, yet the causal mechanisms underlying their roles remain poorly understood. This study employed High-Definition transcranial electrical stimulation (HD-tES) in three double-blind experiments to modulate neural activity in the DMN and ECN, providing causal evidence for their contributions to creative idea generation. Stimulation of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a key hub of the DMN, consistently enhanced originality in idea generation tasks, particularly in the Alternative Uses Task (AUT). Both tDCS and alpha-tACS over the PCC increased semantic distance, reflecting the exploration of novel and unconventional associations, and boosted response fluency in the AUT. However, in the Forward Flow (FF) task, alpha-tACS decreased semantic distance and DSI, suggesting stimulation may have resulted in task-specific disruptions during continuous ideation. These findings highlight the PCC’s central role in divergent thinking and its nuanced contributions to different creative processes, depending on task demands. Additionally, the results support the efficacy of tES for targeting deep brain regions, offering a foundation for developing more tailored neurostimulation protocols to enhance creative cognition.
3: How do creative professionals stand out? Comparing the creative potential of musicians and actors to non-artists
Mathias Benedek, University of Graz
Janika Saretzki, University of Graz
Creative professionals are widely regarded as exemplary creative people, but it is debated in what ways they stand out besides high domain-specific expertise. Therefore, this study compared professional musicians and actors with a control group of non-artists across a broad range of creativity measures. Results showed that creative professionals demonstrated higher divergent thinking ability, openness to experience, creative self-efficacy and personal identity than the control group. They were more driven by intrinsic motives such as passion but also by extrinsic motives such as recognition. Additionally, artists held a stronger growth mindset and were less susceptible to creativity myths. Differences between musicians and actors were limited to higher creative self-concepts in their respective domains. These findings offer insights into the distinct individual differences of professional artists and support a domain-general perspective of creativity, suggesting that certain aspects of creative potential contribute to professional creativity across different domains.
4: Neural Dynamics in Dance Improvisation
Maxine Annel Pacheco-Ramírez, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Yoshua E. Lima-Carmona, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Aime J. Aguilar-Herrera, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Lianne Sánchez-Rodríguez, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Derek Huber, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
Mauricio A. Ramírez-Moreno, IUCRC BRAIN, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Anthony Brandt, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University
Andy Noble, Department of Dance, Sam Houston State University
Dionne Noble, Department of Dance, Sam Houston State University
Jose L. Contreras-Vidal, IUCRC BRAIN, University of Houston
This study investigates the neural basis of creativity during dance improvisation by analyzing multimodal data of two dancers during the rehearsals and performances of Movement 5 of LiveWire,‘Dynamism of Thought’. This 8-minute segment is meant to evoke the dynamism of thought, mirroring the way different coalitions of needs, desires, and conjectures compete for conscious attention though improvisation, providing a unique opportunity to examine the dynamic interplay of creative expression in dance. To capture neural activity, we deployed mobile brain-body imaging(MoBI) and hyperscanning techniques to record multimodal data through 28 electroencephalography(EEG) and 4 electrooculography(EOG) sensors, head, and video recordings. The datastreams are processed using a multimodal pipeline that incorporates noise-adaptive canceling filters, independent component analysis(ICA), dipole fitting, clustering and visualization to study the shared brain activity. In this study, we characterize the neural dynamics of dance improvisation, revealing the importance of activations in visual areas of the brain (Brodmann areas 17, 18) to anticipate and guide behavior. Over the course of 9 rehearsals spanning 4 months, we observed a progressive increase in brain synchronization, suggesting that continued practice refined the dancers' internal models and interactions, fostering greater neural alignment. Thus, analysis of brain synchrony revealed how creative interactions evolved throughout improvisation as evidenced by a statistically significant upward trend in bispectrum values(p < 0.05), providing insights into the evolving neural mechanisms that support creative collaboration in dance.
5: Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive States in Design Creation: An EEG-Based Functional Connectivity Study
Morteza Zangeneh Soroush, Concordia University
Yong Zeng, Concordia University
Design creation is a complex, ill-defined, and iterative process involving open-ended problem-solving and higher-order cognitive functions. It includes problem-solving within functional and practical boundaries. This complexity underscores the need for effective methods to explore its underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms. This study investigates functional connectivity patterns in the brain during design creativity tasks. EEG data were collected from engineering students performing design creativity tasks in a loosely controlled experimental setting, ensuring ecological validity. Brain functional connectivity was assessed using mutual information from EEG channels. We analyzed brain connectivity across three key cognitive states—idea generation, idea evolution, and idea evaluation—along with the resting state. Graph theory was applied to extract features from connectivity patterns, which were then analyzed using statistical methods, providing new insights into brain dynamics during creative processes. Our findings highlight distinct neural activation patterns across different cognitive states of design creativity. Parietal and occipital regions were predominant during idea generation and evolution, while temporal and frontal lobes exhibited stronger engagement during idea evaluation. EEG-based interaction maps illustrate the complex neural interactions underlying creativity. The application of graph theory further quantified functional connectivity, deepening our understanding of brain behavior in design creativity. This research offers valuable insights into the neural mechanisms of creativity while contributing to both theoretical and practical advancements.
6: Exploring Waking TMR Effects on Attentional Control: A study on Creative Problem-Solving Amidst Internal and External Auditory Distraction
Nia McClendon, Northwestern University
Mark Beeman, Northwestern University
Existing research on attentional control often treats internal and external distractions as a single construct. However, distinguishing between the two could provide key insights into how each affects creative problem-solving, especially during the incubation period, when stepping away from a problem can foster unconscious processing and lead to an 'Aha!' moment. The present study utilizes the novel Attentional Inclination Questionnaire (AIQ), alongside two additional questionnaires assessing attentional style and mind-wandering, to explore how participants' self-reported attentional preferences align with their performance on problem-solving tasks under conditions that evoke internal or external distractions. After completing the questionnaires, participants engage in a variety of puzzles, identifying four they are unable to solve before the incubation period. During the incubation period, participants engage in the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). They are randomly assigned to either an internal distraction condition, where they hear an auditory cue that was previously paired with one of the unsolved puzzles during the initial task, or an external distraction condition, where they are exposed to non-task-related auditory stimuli. Afterward, the participants reattempt the puzzles to evaluate how different types of distraction affect their problem-solving performance, as measured by the number of puzzles solved and the time taken to reach solutions. In a future iteration of the study, EEG will be used to investigate the neural correlates of attentional shifts, providing further understanding of the underlying mechanisms of internal and external attention.
7: Stimulating alpha frequency power with binaural beats to augment creative thinking
Onder Kurt, Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Adam Mickiewicz University
Michał Klichowski, Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Adam Mickiewicz University
Guillaume Thierry, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University
Rafał Jończyk, (1) Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University; (2) Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Adam Mickiewicz University
Neurophysiological evidence suggests a functional link between oscillation power in the alpha frequency band (8–12 Hz) and idea originality. Here, we test whether idea originality and alpha-band power increase following 10 Hz binaural beat stimulation, an auditory illusion that stimulates neural phase locking. We recorded EEG in 36 native Polish speakers engaged in a modified Alternate Uses Task (for details, see Jończyk et al., 2024). Participants first generated a common use for an object and then engaged in three 25-second cycles of unusual use generation for the same object. Depending on the experimental block, participants performed the task while listening to (1) 10 Hz binaural beat (alpha stimulation; 240 Hz in the right ear, 250 Hz in the left ear), (2) 10 Hz stereo beat (sham; 10 Hz in the right ear, 10 Hz in the left ear), or (3) pure tone (control; 240 Hz in both ears). Each experimental block ended with 1-minute exposure to pink noise to prevent carryover effects between blocks. Assignment of stimuli to experimental blocks (six items per block) and block order were counterbalanced across participants. Data collection is complete. Data preprocessing and analysis are currently underway, comparing variations in alpha-band frequency across each ideation cycle under binaural beat, stereo beat, and pure tone conditions (3 x 3 within-subject design). Full results will be available by the time of the conference. The complete experimental protocol and hypotheses are available as a pre-registration on the Open Science Framework repository (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GSM7T).
8: Proton Efflux: A Molecular Mechanism of Creativity
Peter Devenyi, University of Ottawa
The brain consumes considerably more energy than other organs, during which glucose consumed by the brain drops only by half, yet still surpassing the energy consumption of other organs. The source of this energy drain was found to originate in synaptic vesicles. Shape-shifting ‘proton pumps’ enable a proton to escape to allow neurotransmitter into vesicles—yet a low threshold for shape-shifting enables this process to continue as energy leaks from the vesicular membrane—to thus fill vesicles beyond capacity and to thus produce surplus energy. Surplus energy is believed to enable faster synaptic reloading, faster synaptic response, and faster reaction times, and therefore a greater likelihood of survival, due to an evolutionarily conserved molecular mechanism. Random thermal fluctuations can activate this highly sensitive mechanism, thereby causing a continual independent drain of energy beyond the overfilling of vesicles itself, during the absence of synaptic reloading. Moreover, when lipid vesicles cluster together inside of the synaptic terminal, they rely upon the terminal protein synapsin for de-clustering and fusing rapidly with the terminal membrane. Clustering occurs via the mechanism of proton efflux, when synaptic vesicles are rapidly recruited to replace vesicles during neurotransmission. Accumulation of synaptic vesicles produces synaptic terminal congestion, compromising neurotransmission. It is presently hypothesized that disruption of neurotransmission arising from vesicular congestion creates a paradoxical phenomenon wherein ontogenetic abundance during early adulthood, like neurodegenerative absence of neurotransmission, similarly conditions creativity.
9: Representational drift may support the spontaneous formation of associations
Johannes H.-P. Seiler, Universitätsmedizin, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany
J.-Bastian Eppler, Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, Barcelona, Spain
Jonas Elpelt, FIAS, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Matthias Kaschube, FIAS, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Simon Rumpel, Universitätsmedizin, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany
The inception of a novel idea has often been described to occur seemingly spontaneous without conscious engagement. Given the difficulties to study such events in an experimental setting, there is a paucity of candidate mechanisms at the level of neuronal circuits that could serve at least as a hypothetical explanation. In recent years, two-photon in vivo microscopy in rodents enabled measurements of patterns of neuronal activity over days to weeks with single-cell resolution. Using the mouse auditory cortex as a model, we studied the structure of neuronal activity evoked by a set of arbitrary sound stimuli. While a particular sound was associated with a specific pattern of activity, the activity patterns evoked by multiple sounds were arranged such that the similarities between different patterns reflected the perceptual relatedness of the corresponding stimuli as estimated in behavioral tasks. When assessing the stability of sound-evoked activity patterns over days by re-visiting the same set of neurons, we found that the tuning curves of individual neurons undergo continuous remapping while the global pairwise similarities of population activity patterns were stably maintained. This phenomenon, termed “representational drift” occurred even under constant environmental and behavioral settings. Contrasting the stability at the global level, at the level of local circuits we observed a perpetual reconfiguration how different sets of sounds were linked together to drive the same neuronal ensemble. We propose that “representational drift” could support the creative process by continuously sampling the configural space to allow the selection of useful new associations.
10: Exploring the Link Between Divergent Thinking and Predictive Processing in Social Contexts
* Author(s)
Tal Ivancovsky1,; Eva Cortés Velasco1;Lorena Chanes1,2,3
* Organization(s)
1 Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
2 Institue of Neurosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
3 Serra Húnter Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Predictive processing has emerged as a promising framework for understanding cognition, yet its relationship with creative thinking remains underexplored. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between divergent and convergent thinking, and predictive processing in social contexts. A group of fifty-five participants completed the Remote Associates Test (RAT) and the Alternative Uses Task (AUT)—alongside a social perception task that required them to generate and utilize predictions about facial expressions. The task is designed to elicit expectations about facial expressions that are then fulfilled to a given extent (by presenting a stereotypical expression for the evoked emotion; matched trials) or not (by presenting a stereotypical expression for a different emotion category than the one evoked; nonmatched trials). Expectations (predictability rating) and social evaluation (likability rating) were measured. Our findings reveal that divergent, but not convergent, thinking is linked to predictive processing. Specifically, higher originality scores were associated with reduced stereotypicality in predictability ratings, whereas increased flexibility and fluency were associated with a diminished reliance on stereotypical predictions when evaluating others (likability ratings). These findings suggest that individuals with higher divergent thinking abilities might hold more nuanced expectations in social contexts. Overall, the results support a conceptual link between divergent thinking and a broader “predictive space”, suggesting that both are governed by exploratory behavior.
11: Understanding Creativity: A Field-Wide Ontology of Core Constructs
The Creativity Ontology Project team
Adam E. Green, Georgetown University
James C. Kaufman, University of Connecticut
Developed out of the SfNC Ontology Initiative, the Creativity Ontology Project aims to move the field of creativity toward a shared understanding of creativity-related constructs within and across creativity research communities. This collaborative project, engaging nearly 200 expert co-authors across disciplinary, demographic, and geographic diversity, reflects the voices of the field regarding distinctions and commonalities between key constructs in creativity research. Specifically, this project seeks to (1) identify namable distinctions and commonalities between a set of key constructs in creativity research and (2) identify the most definitive component terms for three usages of creativity: Creativity as a process, Creativity as the attribute of a product, and Creativity as the attribute of a person or agent. In a phased approach, each expert co-author first generated constructs similar in meaning to creativity and selected essential component terms for each construct, as well as for the three usages of creativity. In a subsequent phase, the component terms and constructs that showed the strongest field-wide agreement from the first phase were presented to each expert, who rated how essential each component term was to the meaning of each creativity-related construct and to the meanings of the three usages of creativity. Together, this project allows the field to determine not only shared and distinct components across key constructs but also how essential each component is to the meanings of these core constructs and usages. This collective effort yields a clear, jargon-free presentation of key terms, accessible to both experts and newcomers.
12: The Creative Brain in Pain: How pain affects creative ideation and underlying attention-related psychophysiological mechanisms.
Danièle A. Gubler, University of Bern
Christian Rominger, University of Graz
Stefan J. Troche, University of Bern
Creative ideation has been consistently linked to internal attention, as it enables allocating cognitive resources to internally generated thoughts while inhibiting irrelevant sensory input. If this is the case, then factors like pain, which inherently capture attentional resources, should indirectly affect creative ideation via attention. With this study, we investigated the impact of experimentally induced pain on creative ideation and attention-related psychophysiological mechanisms. Participants completed an Alternate Uses Task (AUT) under either a pain condition (N = 39) or a non-pain condition (N = 37), while concurrent EEG recordings assessed the degree of internally directed attention through task-related power (TRP) changes in the upper alpha frequency band. Results revealed that while behavioral performance on the AUT did not differ between groups, the pain group exhibited significantly increased TRP changes, particularly at right (vs. left) temporoparietal electrode sites, indicating enhanced internal attention. In an exploratory manner, we further examined the role of openness to experience (intellect) in AUT performance and TRP changes. Across all participants, AUT performance, TRP changes, and openness to experience were significantly positively correlated. Importantly, the relationship between openness to experience and TRP changes was explained by AUT performance. These findings suggest that pain increases the allocation of attention to internal mental processes to maintain creative ideation performance. They further establish a link between self-reported openness to experience, creative ideation performance, and attention-related mechanisms.
13: Pronounced creativity should receive more attention in the assessment of young people at risk for the transition to manifest bipolar disorder: Results from the Early-BipoLife study
Elisabeth Inka Michaelis, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
Julia Martini, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
Andrea Pfennig, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
BipoLife Consortium, Diverse affiliations
Bipolar disorders (BD) are severe mental illnesses marked by recurrent depressive and manic episodes. Anecdotal evidence suggests a link between BD and creativity. This study examined creativity in individuals at high vs. low risk for transitioning to manifest BD. Data from the Early-BipoLife study were analyzed. A total of 1,105 individuals aged 15-35 years were followed for two years. Participants were grouped based on BD risk (Early Phase Inventory for Bipolar Disorders) and creativity scores (Barron-Welsh Art Scale [BWAS], Creative Achievement Questionnaire [CAQ]): G1: low BD risk, low creativity; G2: low BD risk, high creativity; G3: high BD risk, low creativity; G4: high BD risk, high creativity. During follow-up, 25 individuals developed manifest BD. Compared to G1, individuals in G2 showed no significant difference in BD transition risk (OR=1.69, 95% CI:0.40-7.14, p=0.503). Individuals with high BD risk and low BWAS creativity (G3) had an almost 5-fold higher risk for transition to BD (OR=4.56, 95% CI: 1.13-18.46, p=.029), and individuals at high BD risk and high BWAS creativity (G4) had an even seven times higher risk for transition (OR=7.05, 95% CI:1.94-25.56, p=.001) compared to those of G1. Confirming results were observed when repeating the analyses using the CAQ. Increased creativity in individuals at high risk for BD significantly raises the odds of transitioning to manifest BD, beyond major risk factors. As creativity is commonly experienced as a resource or positive sense of identity, further research should examine whether creative BD at-risk persons especially benefit from e.g. art or music therapy in addition to standard treatment.
14: The combination of transcranial random noise stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and transcranial photobiomodulation over the default mode network on divergent thinking, convergent thinking and anxiety
Javier Peña, University of Deusto, Spain.
Roger E. Beaty, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, United States
Agurne Sampedro, University of Deusto, Spain.
Naroa Ibarretxe-Bilbao, University of Deusto, Spain.
M. Acebo García-Guerrero, University of Deusto, Spain.
Natalia Ojeda, University of Deusto, Spain.
Previous studies have shown that transcranial electrical stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) improves cognitive flexibility and creativity (mainly convergent thinking) compared to sham. Recently, transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) over the Default Mode Network (DMN) showed a significant improvement on divergent thinking. However, as far as authors are aware, none of the previous studies have tested if the combination of tRNS over the DLPFC and tPBM over the DMN improves both convergent and divergent thinking, as well as anxiety. In this randomized single-blind, sham-controlled, parallel-group mixed-design study consisted of a single session. Sixty-two healthy participants were randomly assigned to combined tRNS over the DLPFC and tPBM over the DMN or sham (n=31 in each group). The combined tRNS-tPBM group received 20 minutes of 1mA (100–500Hz) tRNS over the DLPFC bilaterally and tPBM over the DMN. Creativity was assessed before (baseline) and after stimulation with the Unusual Uses (UU), Picture Completion (PC) and Remote Association test (RAT). The combined tRNS-tPBM group scored higher on RAT (F=9.69, p=0.003), UU (F=5.46, p=0.023) and anxiety (F=12.5, p<0.001) compared to sham, but not on PC. These results suggest that combined tRNS-tPBM may show effects on some specific creativity measures and anxiety and opens up new possibilities of interventions for creative enhancement as well as cognitive functioning among both healthy people and patients with cognitive disorders.
15: Slow Oscillatory tDCS Enhances Visual Originality and Modulates Delta Power on the Left Frontal Cortex
Martinez-Martinez, Sarai, University of Deusto
Muthalib, Makii, Montpellier University,
Ibarretxe-Bilbao, Naroa, University of Deusto
Ojeda, Natalia, University of Deusto
Peña,Javier, University of Deusto
Creativity is an internal attention cognitive process constrained by a generative goal. During internally directed processing, such as self-generated thought, delta waves (1 - 4 Hz) play a key role. Delta oscillations emerge from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in the deep sleep and facilitate deep integrative processing. Creative thinking requires attention to be effectively guided by cognitive control and associative strategies supported by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Transcranial direct current stimulation at 0.75 Hz (so-tDCS) has been used to enhance deep sleep delta power and memory consolidation. But, as far as the authors are aware, 0.75 Hz so-tDCS has not been applied during creative tasks. This study investigates the effects of 0.75 Hz so-tDCS applied to the mPFC and bilateral DLPFC on creativity and EEG. Thirty-nine subjects participated in two sessions (real so-tDCS and sham) in a double-blind within-subject study. They completed Remote Associate Task (verbal and visual versions), Unusual Uses, and Picture Completion tasks during stimulation. In total, 2.5 mA of so-tDCS were applied to two anodes over the DLPFC (F3, F4) and one cathode over the mPFC (FpZ) for 30 minutes. EEG was recorded from the frontal cortex pre- and post-stimulation to assess changes in delta power. Originality in the Picture Completion task was significantly higher (p = .014) during so-tDCS. Additionally, delta power decreased in the left frontal cortex post-stimulation (p = .009).These findings contribute to the understanding of how delta oscillations and targeted brain stimulation influence internally driven cognitive processes like creativity.
16: How Evaluation Expectation Impacts Adolescent Creative Potential in School Context
Jean Urbaniak, UCLouvain
Georgios Valmas, UCLouvain
Baptiste Barbot, UCLouvain
Global efforts are made to enhance creativity in school settings. To achieve this, it is crucial to accurately assess creativity in order to evaluate the effectiveness of educational policies and programs designed to foster students' creative potential. However, the school environment is far from neutral, and little research has explored the impact of school-specific contextual factors that may hinder creative performance. This study investigates how the school evaluation context (both implicit and explicit) influences adolescents' creative potential across different creative tasks, which vary in terms of modality, cognitive processes involved, and instructions. The study was conducted with 428 Belgian secondary school students (mean age = 14.31; SD = 1.58; 51% female) from the first to the fifth year. Participants completed four creative tasks and a state-stress questionnaire. The explicit evaluation context was experimentally manipulated to examine its impact on diverse creative potential scores and its interaction with demographic variables on these scores. Overall, the explicit evaluation context impedes several aspects of creative potential, though its effects varied depending on the creative task. Some of these effects were mitigated by school level and stress-state levels. These findings highlight the critical role of the school evaluation context in creativity assessment, with significant implications for fostering creativity and accurately tracking its development in educational settings.
17: Decoding Musical Training Using Cortical Thickness
Jed Villanueva, University of Southern California
Assal Habibi, University of Southern California
Learning an instrument is often used as a model for training-induced neuroplasticity. For instance, music training has been linked with cortical thickness changes in auditory, motor, and executive functioning regions independent from cortical thinning associated with age. Using data from the ABCD Study, a machine learning classifier was trained to predict whether 8-11-year-old children were enrolled in a music program based on cortical thickness patterns. Participants were unmatched for age, gender, or socioeconomic status. They included musicians (N = 2365), engaged in music program for over four months, and nonmusicians (N = 1244) not enrolled in any extracurricular program. T1- and T2-weighted MRI scans were collected from which cortical thickness data was extracted using FreeSurfer and parcellated using the Destrieux atlas. A support vector machine (SVM) classifier was trained using thickness data from 148 brain regions. Hyperparameter tuning and recursive feature elimination (RFE) identified 20 key features, primarily in frontal and temporal regions. The model achieved 67% accuracy and an F1 score of 0.785. The classifier identified musicians based on patterns of cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal gyrus, insula, and left paracentral lobule. Nonmusicians were best classified by their pattern of cortical thickness in auditory and language areas (left inferior and right middle frontal gyrus) and auditory processing (right superior temporal gyrus). Importantly, these patterns reflect group differences in cortical organization rather than mean differences. These results support our prior findings that music training is related to changes in children.
18: LIRA - Cultivating the brains favorite way of learning: Art Therapy meets GameDesign meets CogSci
Laura Clemens, Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen, Ottersberg
Franziska van Nguyen, Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen, Ottersberg
Manouchehr Shamsrizi, Humboldt Universität, Berlin
Jan Wagner, Ulisses Spiele
Myriel Balzer, Ulisses Spiele
Marc Schipper, Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen, Ottersberg
LIRA (Learning in Role-Play - Application) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary research project, with backgrounds from Psychology, Fine Arts, Game-Design and Art-Therapy. We thrive to design a role-play game aimed for kids with e.g. dyscalculia. The project is BMBF funded. Learning and creative playing are often perceived as two opposing poles. A look at the history of play education shows that the educational significance of play has been questioned and discussed time and again. While learning is associated with school and lessons, play means leisure and relaxation from learning. From a scientific point of view, play does indeed represent an origin of human culture (see Huizinga, 2009). It has an implicit, educational character because it enables individuals to engage independently with their cultural environment (Heimlich, 2015, p. 136). This is precisely where LIRA comes in. Games have been shown to increase brain capacity by promoting creative expression and cognitive growth (Anguera et al., 2013; Kühn et al., 2014; van Dijk and De Dreu, 2021). Aim here is therefore to transfer scientific findings directly into practice, including implementation, application and the investigation of learning Improvements/effects. This not only makes it possible to establish an individual form of learning in which fun and learning are not mutually exclusive. The format could be extended to other learning content and thus enable a new form of learning support. A new form of learning support that would be considerably more cost-effective and at the same time has a positive cognitive as well as social impact.
19: Is there a difference in interpersonal neural synchrony between people with high and low autistic traits when recognizing emotions in abstract drawings?
Young Ah Kim, University of Vienna
Elif Gülen, Berlin Psychological University
Kamilla Lauer, University of Vienna
Theresa Demmer, University of Vienna
Corinna Kühnapfel, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Giorgia Silani, University of Vienna
Matthew Pelowski, University of Vienna
Background: Although emotion recognition ability is considered to be lower in people with higher autistic traits, most studies on emotion recognition is based on facial expressions. This raises the question of how emotion perception might differ when an alternative medium is used. Further, studies suggest that the interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) may be reduced in autistic people when engaged in social interactions, but whether INS differs during interaction through other mediums is still unexplored. Methods: 29 adult participants with high autistic traits and 29 age- and gender-matched participants with low autistic traits completed the study. Participants watched 36 one-minute videos of people making abstract line drawings expressing one of four emotions (happiness, fear, anger, pride). The neural activities of the artists and the viewers were recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) over the empathy related brain regions. INS was calculated using wavelet transform coherence analysis. Results: While the low-trait group performed significantly better in the face-based task (p = 0.024), there was no significant group difference in performance for the art-based task (p = 0.570). GLMM analysis showed that there was also no significant group difference in INS. However, higher alexithymia trait significantly predicted lower guess rate (p = 0.001) and lower INS in the left inferior parietal lobule (p=0.007). Conclusions: Unlike a face-based task or face-to-face interaction, when using an art-based task, individuals with high autistic traits may not show reduced emotion recognition or reduced INS. Instead, higher alexithymia trait may have a bigger role.
20: ADHD in Creative Problem-Solving and Insight: When More is Better Than Some
Hannah Maisano, Drexel University
Fengqing Zhang, Drexel University
Brian Daly, Drexel University
Mark Beeman, Northwestern University
John Kounios, Drexel University
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects over 2.5% of adults globally. Though often depicted through its deficits, recent research suggests benefits to ADHD, especially in creative realms. Nevertheless, research on this connection is sparse, with existing studies focusing on divergent thinking. As for ADHD and convergent thinking, underlying solving strategies, namely, insight versus analysis, have not been examined. We used the Compound Remote Associates (CRA) task to determine whether ADHD and non-ADHD individuals, i.e., those who scored in the top and bottom quartiles of the ASRS questionnaire, solve problems with different strategies. ADHD individuals solved more CRAs with insight rather than analysis. Post-hoc testing showed that participants in the middle quartiles of the ASRS distribution did not display a particular tendency towards insight or analysis and solved significantly fewer CRAs than participants in the top and bottom ASRS quartiles. These results indicate that not only is ADHD associated with insight solving, but that high and low levels of ADHD are associated with higher overall solving rates compared to medium levels of ADHD symptomatology. In other words, the function relating overall solution rates, including both insight and analytic solutions, to ASRS scores is a bimodal and U-shaped.
21: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Embodied Simulations in Divergent Thinking
1) Michael Hopkins, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
2) Gabriel Smith, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
3) Heath Matheson, Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
Creativity is defined by action. But are actions merely the output of creative thought, or is action an indispensable part of the creative process? What is creativity like in people who show disinhibited actions? The theory of Embodied Cognition suggests that sensorimotor predictions—of how things look, sound, and feel—support how we think. This implicates action—and the sensorimotor activities associated with moving in the world—in creative processes. Importantly, traits associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by disinhibited actions in response to the environment. The present study evaluated the effects of different embodied simulation strategies and ADHD traits on creativity levels. Participants (N = 102) completed an Alternative Uses Task (AUT), in which they generated as many creative uses for an object as possible by either thinking of the parts of the object or its whole. We counted the number of responses and quantified creativity using Semantic Distance. To make inferences about embodied simulation strategies, responses were assessed using an Embodied Coding Scheme designed for the AUT. We also measured ADHD traits. The results showed that participants high in ADHD traits generated more actions for whole objects, and their responses were generally less creative than those of participants classified as low in ADHD traits. Further, participants high in ADHD traits were more likely to generate concrete actions for object parts. These findings suggest that embodied simulations in divergent thinking tasks may be more active, though not necessarily more creative, in individuals high in ADHD traits.
22: Is the Interplay between Creativity and Pain Reciprocal?
Radwa Khalil, School of Business, Social and Decision Sciences, Constructor University, Bremen, Germany
Marc Landry, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UMR 5293, Bordeaux, France
Pain processing and creative thinking may share executive functions (EF) and learning rules that depend on overlapping neuronal networks and dopaminergic (DA) pathways. We propose an asymmetrical interaction between pain and creativity as follows: 1) Increased pain may trigger increasing creativity up until the point that the silence mode network circuit is activated, which, in turn, reactivate other neural circuits of multiple modalities (i.e., cognitive, emotional, sensory…). 2) Enhanced creativity alleviates pain by distracting attention and cognitive resources from pain; 3) Creativity also activates DA reward circuits, thus improving pain sensitization. Nevertheless, research on the brain circuitry of creative mental operations, which may regulate pain networks, particularly pain's emotional and cognitive components, has been largely ignored, mostly in animal models (i.e., rodents, monkeys, etc.). We discuss the value of considering the translation research agenda for a more profound understanding of these mechanistic interactions. We also highlight how EF impairments may correlate with pain sensitization in neurodevelopmental disorders and clinical conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, and how creativity may be a powerful therapy to reduce pain sensitization. Finally, we provide guidelines for future research on the mechanistic description of the neural network circuits of creativity.
23: Effects of stress on convergent task performance in post-traumatic stress disorder
Madison Musich, University of Missouri
Sara Mobl, University of Missouri
David Q. Beversdorf, University of Missouri
Previous studies demonstrated impaired in performance on convergent creativity tasks in the setting of acute stressors, an effect greatest in those with greater genetic susceptibility to stress. The question remains whether such effects of stress could be augmented in clinical populations with exaggerated stress responses. To begin to examine this, we assessed 12 college students for degree of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). On the first study session, half were given the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a social evaluative stressor known to induce elevated cortisol and impair performance on convergent tasks, followed by a set of anagrams. The other half were given the control condition of the TSST, involving the same activities but with no social evaluative stressor, followed by anagrams. On the second session, they received the opposite TSST condition from what they received on the first visit, followed by anagrams. Participants were 18.4 (±0.7) years of age. Anagram performance was compared for those above/below the mean PCL-5 score. In this initial pilot sample, a 1-tailed t-test revealed significantly worse performance on anagram latency in the high PCL-5 group (p=0.04), driven by a borderline trend towards worse performance in the stress condition (p=0.12). No differences were observed for the non-stress condition (p>0.05). Data collection is ongoing, but this initial sample begins to suggest that subclinical PTSD scores may impact the effect of acute stress on convergent creativity. Preliminary findings warrant further study in clinical PTSD populations and potential impacts on their lives.
24: The Neurobiology of Affective and Cognitive Art Therapy on Depression
Marian Sterling, University of Washington
Anne Richards, Department of Psychology, Seattle Central College
Depression is one of the leading psychological disorders worldwide. Neuroscientific research in art therapy has focused on measuring brain activity involved in emotional processing associated with psychological disorders rather than treatment outcomes. One of the reasons art therapy models have not been tested in treatment is traditional EEG measurements are prone to interference when participants move while making art. The recent development of Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) is a promising way to measure brain activity during art therapy tasks. This research proposal aims to test the hypothesis, that art therapy treatment models which elicit an emotional response will work more effectively than models that stimulate a cognitive response, on individuals with major depression. This prediction is based on the outcome of meditation studies, which demonstrate affective experiences can interrupt default rumination, a key barrier to engaging in higher cognitive functions which can improve symptoms of depression. This study proposal utilizes art mediums commonly applied in art therapy practice known to produce both affective and cognitive experiences. The context in which the medium is used will be manipulated to provide either experience. Changes in depression symptom severity between art therapy modalities will be compared within subjects pretest and posttest. Study results could be used to identify effective treatments for depression, optimize currently used treatment models, and possibly predict treatment effectiveness on individuals with major depression.
25: Creativity at the core of healthcare from the beginning to the end of life: Reinventing ways of taking care of others
Joana Romeiro, Pos-doctoral Fellow at Integral Human Development Program, PhD, MSc, Registered Nurse. Invited Auxiliar Professor at Faculty of Health Sciences and Nursing, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon. Integrated researcher at Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Health, Portugal.
Modern science and technological advancements appeal to a vision of the future but also of the past and the evolutionary aspects of the human mind and human consciousness. One must go has further as the Paleolithic era recalling ideas defended by David Lewis-Williams the first researcher to unveil a neuropsychological explanation in the book “The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art”. This work rises from the ultimate question: “How we became human and in the process began to make art?”. A contemporary neuroscientist, António Damásio, defends that pictorial representations in the French caves, illustrate the way in which the brain constructs the mind, how it makes that mind conscious, or the structure/or way in which it must function so that the conscious mind emerges. Damásio highlights the emergence of a conscious mind where the assimilation and reaction to “environmental images” occurs through a set of “internal images”, in the process of regulating the “self”, its needs, and its affections. From the earliest origins of Humanity and from the beginnings of consciousness, there is not only a natural or biological presence, but actions and intents and an intrinsic subjectivity behind it and towards a common wellbeing. Let´s recall the “Art” of Nursing. Taking care of others responding to their needs is not only related to personal traits but demands brain´s development of empathy and creative and innovative ways (humor, storytelling, drawing, and enactment of clinical procedures) to interact with people facing health adverse events at any stage of life.
26: Unlock the music box: towards health equity and enhanced quality of life through better access to music and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
Michelle Moses-Eisenstein, MPH, UCSF, Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI)
Background: In the United States, most dementia care is provided in senior living centers and nursing homes. The response to residents’ behavioral problems is often medications which can have negative side effects. Method: We conducted a literature review in Google Scholar and Pubmed on music programs in nursing homes and senior living centers in order to explore the utility of non-pharmacological programs. Result: Several studies indicate that non-pharmacological interventions including music programs improve patient behaviors and can lead to a decrease in negative behaviors such as agitation. One study found that individualized music programs are associated with reductions in behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and medication use. In another study of 4107 residents, Music and Memory program researchers found decreases in medication use and better behaviors. Music also improves memory in Alzheimer’s patients. Group music therapy can reduce depression among patients with dementia. A review of 25 Randomized Controlled Trials or Clinical Controlled Trials found most studies supported the argument that music programs improve mood, quality of life, and neuromotor performances. Music programs in groups are also a great opportunity to facilitate social interaction. Conclusion: There appears to be a research gap on how the lack of funding and reimbursement for music in nursing homes impacts access. People with dementia and their caregivers could benefit greatly from better trained artists/music therapists, expanded knowledge of Medicaid and Medicare opportunities, and enhanced provider reimbursement through the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.
27: Increases over time in the idea density of journal reflections during a creative arts intervention predict a greater improvement in well-being in Japanese college students
Kathryn R. Cullen, University of Minnesota
Lee Friedrich, Akita International University
Naeko Naganuma, Akita International University
Naoko Araki, Akita International University
Joel Friedrich, Akita International University
Bonnie Klimes-Dougan, University of Minnesota
Yuko Taniguchi, University of Minnesota
Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests the benefits of creative arts engagement on well-being, but the mechanisms of this effect are unknown. One possibility is that arts engagement introduces new ways of thinking and feeling. Potentially, this effect could be captured in written language. Idea density is a measure of language that reflects the complexity and richness of ideas. In the context of a 2-week arts intervention, we examined whether idea density in students’ daily journal reflections might relate to improvements in wellbeing. Methods: 24 college students in Japan enrolled in a study that involved completing a 10-day arts course, completing 9 reflective journal entries (>400 words) after each session, from which idea density ([verbs + adverbs + adjectives + conjunctions + prepositions] / word count) was calculated. Wellbeing was assessed by the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT) pre- and post-course. Results: 24 participants completed the CIT at baseline; 23 at post. Students completed a mean 7.8 journal entries. CIT scores increased from pre-to-post-course (p=0.01). This improvement correlated with mean idea density (r=0.52, p=0.01). Linear modeling showed that a steeper slope of increase in idea density over time predicted a greater increase in thriving (p=0.01). Conclusion: Greater idea density of written reflections during a creative arts course was related to improved student wellbeing. While preliminary, this suggests a potential mechanism by which arts intervention leads to benefit, through introducing more complex ways of thinking and feeling. Future research is needed to further explore this potential mechanism of arts interventions.
28: Effects of Music-Based Interventions on Auditory, Cognitive, and Psychosocial Health in Older Adults at Risk of Cognitive Decline
Saba Daneshmand, Ellen Herschel, Savannah Bell, Assal Habibi, University of Southern California
The Aging Minds Project investigates the impact of music-based activities, such as choir singing and group music appreciation, on auditory processing, cognitive abilities, and social well-being in adults over 65 years old, particularly those at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. This project is based on previous results indicating improvements in speech-in-noise perception, working memory, and reduced feelings of loneliness. In this study, we aim to investigate whether music-based interventions enhance neuroplasticity and promote social engagement. Participants underwent comprehensive baseline assessments to evaluate cognitive function (Matrix Reasoning, Digit Span, N-back), auditory processing (BKB-SIN, MINT), and psychosocial health (NIH Toolbox for Loneliness, Self-Efficacy, and Apathy). EEG tasks, including the Auditory Oddball paradigm and Speech-in-Noise tasks, were used to measure neural processing of auditory stimuli. The ongoing intervention spans 20 weeks of structured choir or music appreciation sessions, combined with homework exercises, mirroring real-world applications of auditory and cognitive training. Post-intervention assessments will be identical to the baseline assessment. 61 participants enrolled in the study following pre-testing and randomization. However, as the program progressed, 38 participants remained actively engaged and are currently continuing with the intervention. Attendance for the enrolled participants has been consistent with participants attending at least 80% of the session. This study is currently ongoing, so no results beyond the feasibility of the trial are currently available.
29: De novo creative skills following brain damage: a systematic literature review
Marianna Kapsetaki,
1) Department of Neurosurgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
2) Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece
3) Department of Medicine, University of Crete, Greece
4) Faculty of Science and Technology, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece
Helen Whitley,
1)Department of Neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare, London
Background: Brain injury is traditionally viewed as a cause of cognitive decline and impairment, yet emerging evidence suggests that certain types of injury can trigger the development of new creative abilities. Enhanced creativity has been observed in individuals who sustain damage to specific regions, particularly those related to language, memory, and executive function. This study explores the phenomenon of de novo creativity following brain damage, seeking to identify patterns and increase our understanding of the plasticity and adaptation involved. Methods: In December 2024, we conducted a systematic literature review searching seven databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, Embase, JSTOR, Lilacs, and PsychInfo) for cases of post-brain-injury creative skill emergence. Our protocol was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42022376248). Studies were included based on brain damage type, location, and the nature of the acquired creative skill. Results: Eleven cases were identified (9 males, 2 females; median age = 53, range 23–74). Brain damage was attributed to neurodegenerative disease (N=5), traumatic brain injury (N=3), stroke (N=2), subarachnoid hemorrhage (N=1), and epilepsy (N=1). The affected brain regions were primarily the frontal and temporal lobes, with many cases showing damage to areas involved in language processing. The most commonly acquired creative skills were drawing/painting (N=8) and poetry (N=6). Conclusion: The development of new creative abilities following brain injury suggests that neural reorganization and compensatory mechanisms may play a role. Further research is needed to determine whether these changes result directly from
30: Neurodynamics of Creativity in Aging: a pilot study using EEG microstate analysis
Martyna Olszewska, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
Ewa Ratajczak, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
Bartłomiej Kiljanek, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
Jakub Słupczewski, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
The main aim of the presented study was to investigate brain neurodynamics during creative task performance in older adults, as there is still very little objective neuroimaging evidence on creativity-derived brain activity in seniors. 38 healthy older adults (aged 63 - 79) participated in the study. Creativity was assessed via the Alternative Uses Task, and EEG signal was recorded during the task performance. The project is currently in data analysis stage, as we have recently finished data collection. The AUT results were independently rated by two judges, and mean creativity ratings were obtained. We excluded 15 participants due to problems involving retaining task instructions in memory. We then divided the remaining 23 participants into two groups determined by creativity median: more and less creative participants. Preliminary EEG microstate analysis revealed 8 microstate classes. We calculated 3 parameters for each class: occurrence, duration, and coverage and correlated them with mean creativity ratings. We found that for more creative older adults, performing AUT required higher activation of states #5 and #7 and a lower activation of state #3. No significant correlations were found for the less creative group). We are currently working on interpreting those findings by matching topographical similarities of obtained microstate classes with those defined in recent literature. We have also planned to include the data collected from the previously excluded 15 participants. It will allow us to investigate the differences between the participants who completed AUT correctly and those who had trouble understanding the task instructions and retaining them in memory.
31: Neural Oscillations and Creativity: The Cognitive and Electrophysiological Profile of Adults with Developmental Dyslexia
Anastasiya Nekkhamkin, Haifa University
The relationship between dyslexia and creativity has been a subject of considerable debate, characterized by methodological inconsistencies and varying results across studies (Gutiérrez-Ortega et al., 2023). Recent meta-analyses highlight that this relationship is influenced by three key factors: the type of assessment tools employed, the geographic context of the studies, and the age of the participants (Erbeli et al., 2022; Gutiérrez-Ortega et al., 2023). Despite growing interest, no studies to date have examined the neural oscillatory patterns of individuals with dyslexia during divergent thinking tasks. This study adopts a systematic empirical approach to investigate creativity in adults with dyslexia, focusing on divergent and convergent thinking while isolating verbal and figural components. Neural activity was analyzed using electroencephalography (EEG) to explore electrophysiological correlates. Behavioral findings revealed that adults with dyslexia performed similarly to typical readers on most measures, including verbal and figural divergent thinking and figural convergent thinking. However, they showed significantly lower accuracy in verbal convergent thinking, as measured by the Remote Associates Test (RAT). Electrophysiological results revealed significant interactions between dyslexia and event-related synchronization (ERS) in lower and upper alpha and lower beta frequency bands across the right hemisphere's frontal, temporal, and parietal regions. These findings suggest that adults with dyslexia, despite impairments in reading and working memory, demonstrate enhanced inhibitory control, enabling them to achieve comparable performance to typical readers on m
32: Influences of Local Brain Volume on Aging-Related Changes in Creative Neurocognition
Margaret A. Shideler, Georgetown University Department of Psychology
Mafalda Cardoso-Botelho, Georgetown University Department of Psychology
Jana Reifegerste, Georgetown University Medical Center Department of Neurology
Oded M. Kleinmintz, Georgetown University Department of Psychology
Michael T. Ullman, Georgetown University Department of Neuroscience
Adam E. Green, Georgetown University Department of Psychology
The mechanisms underlying the inconsistent effects of aging on creativity remain understudied. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of creative thinking, volumetric structural MRI, and cognitive abilities on 139 healthy adults (ages 18-83). Creativity was assessed using the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) and the Analogy Finding Matrix (AFM). Age-related declines were found for maximum AUT originality and AFM analogical thinking but not for mean AUT originality. Within the three brain networks implicated in creativity - the Default-Mode Network (DMN), the Executive Control Network (ECN), and the Salience Network (SN) - regions-of-interest were selected for volumetric analysis. The volumes of three of these regions - the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) of the DMN, the caudate nucleus of the SN, and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) of the ECN - significantly mediated the relationship between age and creativity. Specifically, PCC and caudate volumes mediated the age-related decline in maximum AUT originality, while IFG volumes mediated the age-related decline in AFM analogical thinking. Further, two cognitive variables, lexical production and processing speed, also mediated creativity declines in maximum AUT originality and AFM analogical thinking. The results from this study suggest that individual differences in key brain region volumes as well as cognitive abilities may underlie certain age-related declines in creativity. Future directions are discussed.
33: White Matter Integrity in Professional Visual Artists: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study
Erdem Taskiran, University of Trento; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC)
Alessandro Grecucci, University of Trento (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences)
Francesca Bacci, Zayed University (College of Arts and Creative Enterprises)
David Melcher, New York University Abu Dhabi(Division of Science)
Nicola De Pisapia, University of Trento (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences )
White matter microstructure is studied via Diffusion Tensor Imaging, which measures anisotropic water diffusion to provide information on axonal connections and integrity. Fractional anisotropy, derived from DTI, quantifies the directional coherence of water diffusion and summary of microstructural integrity. While the relationship between WM integrity and creativity has been explored, its role in professional visual artists has been understudied. We compared WM integrity between twelve professional visual artists and twelve non-artists using FA metrics. We hypothesized that artists would show increased WM integrity in tracts associated with sensorimotor integration and interhemispheric connectivity, and reduced integrity in regions involved in higher-order planning and attentional control. FA maps were analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics, with significant clusters identified using permutation testing. Artists showed greater FA in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum, suggesting improved bilateral coordination and sensory integration critical for creativity. Increased FA was also observed in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus and corona radiata, suggesting improved coordination between frontal and temporal regions and motor coordination, respectively. Conversely, attention-related regions such as the anterior cingulate showed reduced FA in artists, suggesting less reliance on sustained attention and more on spontaneous creativity. In addition, gray matter regions adjacent to significant WM tracts, including the precuneus and Heschl's gyrus, were more prominent in artists, supporting their role in sensory integration and self-referential thinking.
34: Creativity and the Hypnagogic State
Alissa Gomez, Northwestern University
Nia McClendon, Northwestern University
Mark Beeman, Northwestern University
Prior research has suggested that N1 sleep, also known as the hypnagogic state, facilitates creative insight (Lacaux et al., 2021). Here we further probed the creative capacities of this state by introducing a diverse set of creativity tasks. Participants first attempted to solve a set of matchstick puzzles, an Alternative Uses Task (AUT), and a tower-building task. Participants were then randomly assigned to a 30-minute incubation period where they were instructed to either take a nap or watch a video (control). In the nap condition, participants were fitted with a Muse EEG headband to monitor their sleep stage activity. Participants who fell into the hypnagogic state were awakened and asked to report any thoughts they were currently having. Participants in the control condition were similarly asked to report any thoughts they had while watching the video. These thoughts were transcribed by an experimenter. After the incubation period, participants revisited their unsolved matchstick puzzles and repeated the AUT and tower-building tasks. Before re-attempting the tasks, participants were given the transcribed copies of the thoughts they mentioned having during the incubation period and were instructed to review them. Performance changes between the pre- and post-incubation attempts were analyzed to evaluate how the different incubation periods influenced creativity and problem-solving across the three tasks.
35: Does Sadness Make Us More or Less Creative? An fNIRS Study on the Impact of Emotional States on Creative Thinking
Zhino Ebrahimi, Center for Cognitive Science, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) Kaiserslautern, Germany
Thomas Lachmann, Center for Cognitive Science, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) Kaiserslautern, Germany
Daniela Czernochowski, Center for Cognitive Science, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) Kaiserslautern, Germany
Torsten Wüsternberg, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg Core Facility for Neuroscience of Self-Regulation (CNSR)
Our study investigated the effect of emotional states on creativity on behavioral, psychophysiological and brain functional level. To this end, we developed the Common Uses Task (CUT) to evaluate convergent thinking closely matching the task requirements of the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) often used to assess divergent thinking. In the AUT, participants generated multiple uncommon uses for an object, while the CUT required them to identify common uses for an object. Before each CUT and AUT period, a neutral or sad IAPS picture was used for emotion induction. Afterward, participants rated the pictures for valence and arousal. We measured brain function using fNIRS across 40 optical channels covering frontal, parietal and posterior temporal brain regions and sympathetic activity using GSR. Forty-five participants took part in the study. We conducted 2x2 (task × emotion) Bayesian rmANOVAs to assess evidence for differences or equivalences in ratings and channel-wise brain response during CUT and AUT. Our analysis provides very strong evidence (log10(BF10) > 2.0) supporting differences in valence and arousal ratings between neutral and sad IAPS pictures. Regarding brain activity, we observed strong evidence (log10(BF10) > 1.0) for increased bilateral activation in DLPFC during the AUT compared to the CUT. Additionally, in 22 out of 40 channels, encompassing DLPFC, the entire parietal region, and the posterior temporal cortex (bilaterally), we found moderate evidence (log10(BF10) < -0.5) against a task×emotion interaction. Our data provide evidence for the absence of an effect of emotional state on creativity-related brain activity.
36: The Artwork as Mental Item – An Investigation of Laypeople’s Views on Artworks
Gregor Uwe Hayn-Leichsenring, University Hospital Jena, Germany
The ontological state, i.e. the mode of being, of artworks has been widely discussed. Artworks are either physical items (real-world objects), mental items (mental states), or mixed items (physical items and mental items at the same time). This study examined whether laypeople tend to view artworks as physical or mental items. 521 laypeople completed a questionnaire designed to determine their views on the ontological state of artworks. Most participants were rather inconsistent and, therefore, seem to be convinced that artworks are mixed items. However, we defined two groups of people, one consisting of 74 people who were more towards the physical end of the scale (“physicists”) and one consisting of 355 people who were more towards the mental end of the scale (“mentalists”). Next, we examined whether these groups differed in their approaches to artwork. They were presented with images of 100 selected items and asked whether the item was an artwork or not (binary decision). The items shown were selected to represent a wide variety of physical and non-physical objects (paintings, photographs, music, literature, AI objects, nature, etc.). In keeping with their beliefs, physicalists are less likely to classify photographs and literature as artworks than mentalists and more likely to classify AI objects as artworks. For example, Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb" was classified as artwork by only 50% of physicists, but 69% of mentalists. In summary, laypeople have different views on the ontological state of artworks, which correlate with the classification of objects as artworks.
37: Someplace Like Home: Unpacking “Hominess” at Work
Charlotte Bohning, Perkins Eastman
Hanna Negami, Perkins Eastman
Widya Ramadhani, Perkins Eastman
Katherine Gluckselig, Perkins Eastman
Rebecca Milne, Perkins Eastman
Bob Condia, Kansas State University
Our previous research on creativity and the built environment found a positive relationship between hominess and the creative process. However, achieving hominess at work is increasingly difficult, especially with the rise of open-plan offices with unassigned seating. As hybrid schedules reduce office footprints, many employees are losing their “home base” at work, increasing stress, distractions, and burnout. With the goal of understanding how flexible workspaces can support creativity while minimizing cognitive strain, we conducted a mixed-method study on hominess in open-plan, free-address office environments. Our research combined direct observations of workplace behavior across four locations, two-week user experience diaries (N = 2), and survey data from knowledge workers (N = 477) to define hominess and identify its key drivers. Observations revealed inherent tensions in open-plan, free-address work environments—such as balancing freedom of choice with shared control of environmental factors—that hinder a sense of home. However, our survey analysis found that satisfaction with unassigned office spaces has the potential to exceed that of home offices—provided workers feel reflected in their space, are physically comfortable, and have privacy. Across our methodologies, we identified key strategies to create a workspace that feels like home in open-plan, free-address environments. Together, these insights inform affordable solutions that prioritize comfort, familiarity, trust, and ownership, helping workers to feel more at home and do their best creative work in open-plan, free-address offices.
38: Recognizing Flourishing by Design as a Virtual 'Cultural Kitchen' - a Community for Creative Exploration and Individual, Collective, and Societal Transformation
Jenna Mikus, Eudae Group, University of Melbourne, Hasselt University
According to Your Brain on Art (Magsamen & Ross, 2023, p. 202), "[humans] are ultra-social creatures who biologically evolved to belong to something greater than ourselves." As this book recognizes and as studies within positive psychology and wellbeing science affirm, human connection is the essence of humanity, especially when considered in the context of flourishing (VanderWeele, 2017). Design communities, ones in which it could be argued would most benefit from connection-based creative-making, rarely have the opportunity to connect meaningfully on a regular basis. Many also do not have the autonomy to choose the projects they wish to work on to explore creatively or to make the world a better place. In 2024, a new special interest group was established in association with the Harvard University-affiliated Human Flourishing Program to make flourishing research actionable by design. By bringing together a collective of passionate multidisciplinary research professionals and industry practitioners, this group aimed to discuss and disseminate wellbeing science scholarship while also translating theory into practice, to realize flourishing for individuals, communities, and the planet. By considering design praxis (i.e., the design process) and practice (i.e., the design outcome), the community ensures that intentionality, integrity, respect, and purpose are in-built as essential in design engagements and therefore results, essentially serving as what Maria Rosario Jackson calls a virtual "cultural kitchen"--a place capable of restoring, replenishing, and reinvigoring our full creative selves and communities (Magsamen & Ross, 2023, p. 213).
39: "Embodiment and Creativity in Picasso's Screenprints by Koncha Pinos"
Koncha Pinós, The Wellbeing Planet - COAC Barcelona
"Embodiment and Creativity in Picasso's Screenprints by Koncha Pinos" This study explores how interaction with three unique screenprints by Pablo Picasso, exhibited at the Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC) in Barcelona, influences emotional prosody and the development of synesthetic codes in various participant groups. The emotional and sensory responses of 100 participants, including children, adults, blind, sighted, and migrant individuals, are analyzed in the context of neuroaesthetics, a field exploring how art affects and transforms the human brain. Picasso's screenprints, with their distinctive style and sgraffito technique, provide a multisensory experience that activates various perceptual modalities. Using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools, changes in emotional prosody are assessed before and after engagement with the artworks. The study focuses on how these interactions impact emotional expression and foster synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon that blends different senses, central to Picasso’s creative process. Results include significant changes in how participants experience and express emotions, with an enhanced ability to integrate visual, tactile, and emotional perceptions. Blind participants, exploring the screenprints through touch, develop new emotional and sensory associations, while sighted participants experience a fusion of visual and emotional perceptions. Children show a greater willingness to express emotions through color and shape, while migrants form deeper emotional connections related to cultural identity. In all cases, increased brain plasticity and a greater integration of sensory and emotional experiences are observe
40: How developmental trajectory of convergent and divergent thinking rely to the tendency to adopt exploitation or exploration behaviors from childhood to adolescence?
Lola Antoine, ISMM
Severine Maggio, Paris-Cité University
Yuval Hart, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Roger Beaty, Pennsylvania State University
Anaëlle Camarda, ISMM & Paris-Cité University
The literature highlights that creative abilities evolve from childhood to adulthood, following a non-linear trajectory that differs for convergent and divergent thinking (Kleibeuker et al., 2013). These developmental differences are thought to result from the evolution of the cognitive processes underlying the two forms of thinking. Divergent thinking, inherently exploratory, relies on capacities such as cognitive fluency and flexibility in idea generation. In contrast, convergent thinking predominantly involve selecting and optimizing generated ideas (De Vries & Lubart, 2019). However, the relationship between the cognitive tendency toward exploitation or exploration and individuals' creative abilities remains largely understudied. While research suggests an explore-exploit shift over development, adolescence may be a period of heightened exploratory sensitivity (Kim & Carlson, 2024; Sommerville et al., 2017). Yet, no study has continuously examined the developmental pattern of this dynamic from childhood to late adolescence. This study aims to (1) characterize the developmental trajectories of convergent and divergent thinking alongside exploration-exploitation tendencies and (2) examine their interrelation depending on task type. We expect non-linear trajectories, with convergent thinking peaks aligning with increased exploitation and divergent thinking peaks with increased exploration. Thus, over 200 participants completed a creativity battery assessing convergent and divergent thinking, and exploration-exploitation tasks (Creative Foraging Game, Hart et al., 2017). Preliminary findings will be discussed in light of cognitive theories of creativity and exploration.