Project Abstract:

Resting State and Task-related Brain Dynamics Supporting Creativity. Project was successfully accepted for NSF Funding (NSF Grant #1734883 )

Subathra Raj, Brian Tsai, Alexander Schperberg, Sheldon Brown, Tzyy-Ping Jung, Ying Wu

Creativity is likened to fluid thought and defined as the ability to generate original, useful contributions to human endeavors in the form of new ideas, representations, and material objects. This study investigates how creative thinking is modulated by different modes of task engagement. A guided and open-ended scenario was created in the Unity 3D game engine tasking the player with finding a way to enter a locked house. In the guided version, the player follows a trail of notes with instructions on where to look for a hidden key. In the open-ended version, the player discovers alternative entry points and devises methods for accessing them using tools scattered randomly in the environment. Twenty-three healthy adults participated in two separate data recording sessions, each featuring either the guided or discovery-based scenario presented in counter-balanced order. Immediately before and after each scenario, resting state EEG was recorded (Emotiv Epoch headset). Additionally, a psychometric test known as the 'Alternative Uses Task' was administered, challenging participants to enumerate as many novel uses for a conventional item (e.g. a paper clip) as possible within a fixed time.

After the guided scenario, participants tended to generate slightly more alternative uses for common objects, but tended to produce fewer original responses. Notably, these behavioral changes were accompanied by a slight decrease in post-task resting state beta (15 – 35 Hz) and gamma (50+ Hz) power. On the other hand, after the discovery-based scenario, neither fluency nor originality of responses changed. However, resting state beta and gamma band power – along with spectral activities in the alpha range (8 – 12 Hz) – all tended to increase after the discovery-based task. This pattern of outcomes reveals that open-ended problem solving tends to modulate resting state EEG to a greater degree than tasks that simply involve following instructions. Further, the observed resting state changes may be related to neurocognitive mechanisms that sustain the originality of creative thought in the wake of resource intensive task engagement.

Poster presented at the Society of Neuroscience, 2018