Cogs 123C: Creativity Midterm 2

commissures

large bundles of nerve fibers that pass neural messages from one hemisphere to the other

What is the largest commissure?

the corpus callosum

commissurotomy

surgical severing of commissures

Hoppe (1988)

- Investigated how much affect (emotion) split-brain patients experience when shown an emotional film

- subjects watched the film and described feelings and reactions to the film

In Hoppe (1988), what was split-brain subjects' level of affect?

It was significantly different than control subjects; they lacked in affect (they weren't very emotional)

In Hoppe (1988), what was split-brain subjects' description of their reactions?

They described their reactions in very unemotional terms (dull, uninvolved, flat, lacking in expressiveness)

In Hoppe (1988), the split-brain subjects' reactions were "episodic". What does this mean?

They focused on the basic sequence of events, not the meaning of what was going on (didn't comment on disappearance of child or significance of empty swing)

Alexithymia

lack of emotional awareness, emotional relating and social attachment

Characteristic #1 of Alexithymia

Difficulty distinguishing, identifying, and appreciating emotions

Characteristic #2 of Alexithymia

Difficulty describing feelings to other people

Characteristic #3 of Alexithymia

Decreased imaginal processes (lack of imagination)

Are alexithemics creative? Why?

They have difficulty being creative. They don't get very excited about opportunities/ challenges and aren't interested or motivated to think creatively

What does the Hoppe (1988) study suggest?

Creativity does to some degree depend on the interaction of both hemispheres

TenHouten (1994)

- Split brain patients (and controls) watched 3-minute film portraying (with images and background music) death of baby and boy

- Subjects were asked questions about film, and asked to write 4 sentences expressing what they felt about the film

In TenHouten (1994), what were the results of split-brain subjects compared to control subjects?

They were significantly more alexythymic than control subjects

In TenHouten (1994), what were the results of split-brain subjects regarding quality of speech?

They used few affect-laden words and relatively few adjectives, with language that was flat, dull, uninvolved, lacking in expression

In TenHouten (1994), what was the level of creativity in split-brain subjects' verbal productions?

There was a lack of creativity

What was the overall conclusion of split-brain research (TenHouten (1994) & Hoppe (1988))?

Creativity appears to involve interaction of both hemispheres - based on evidence that split-brain patients seem to show impairments to creativity

Dominant hemisphere

the hemisphere that tends to be more active whole performing certain cognitive functions

Burke et al (1989)

Gave both visual and verbal divergent tasks to left-handers and right-handers

Burke et al (1989) findings for visual divergent thinking tests

Left-handers did slightly better on 4 visual tests of divergent thinking (one was significant)

Burke et al (1989) findings for verbal divergent thinking tests

No difference between left and right handers

Burke et al (1989) authors' suggestions about certain subjects' slight advantage?

- In creative activities where lefties have an advantage, it may be because they've developed a "coping" skill from having to adjust to "right-handed" environments (right-handed "mice", classroom desks, etc.)

- This may contribute to their flexibility and creative thinking

Peterson & Lansky (1977)

Looked at Univ. of Cincinnati architecture program

Peterson & Lansky (1977) Results

- 29% of faculty were left handed (in gen pop it's ~10%)

- left handers performed better in program than right-handers

- in general, more left-handers apply to architecture schools

Looking at handedness is

NOT a direct measure of brain function

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978)

- Took EEG readings of 12 creative-writing students; they went through phases of story-writing activity

- Students' creativity was rated by creative writing professor

- Asked to use their imagination and make up a story about a man who asks a woman out

• who they are

• how they met

• what will happen

- they were specifically asked to be creative and original

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978) results for "highly creative" writers?

Had higher alpha activity during the "inspiration" phase than during "elaboration" phase

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978) results for "less creative" writers?

No difference in EEG activity during any of the process

Alpha activity

brain waves in the 8-12 Hz range

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978): Experiment 2

- 16 subjects performed similar story- writing task, except that:

• creativity measured by RAT

• researchers varied whether or not subjects were specifically told to be "creative" and "original:

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978): Experiment 2 Results

Found the same increase in alpha activity during "inspiration" phase for highly- creative subjects, but only when they were instructed to be creative and original

Martindale et al (1986)

Investigated differences in EEG activity when one is involved in primary process thinking compared to secondary process thinking

Primary process cognition

irrational, free associative, and perceptual: this thinking is present in dreaming, in children, and in psychotic states

Secondary process cognition

logical, abstract, and realistic: happens in normal waking consciousness of adults

Kris (1952)

Suggests that creative people employ more primary process thinking

Hines & Martindale (1973)

Suggests that there is a higher level of primary process content in the fantasy narratives of more creative subjects (as opposed to less-creative subjects)

Regressive Imagery Dictionary

Identifies words and phrases that are indicative of primary process thinking

Martindale et al (1986) Results

Showed a basal asymmetry (greater right-hemisphere activation than left-hemisphere activation) in subjects whose narratives contained more primary process content

Martindale et al (1986) Authors' Conclusion

Suggest that people who have a high-level of right-hemisphere (as opposed to left-hemisphere) activation tend to think in a more "primary process" way

Carlsson, Wendt, & Risberg (2000)

Had high-creativity & low creativity subjects perform creativity test ("uses" test)

Carlsson, Wendt, & Risberg (2000) Results

High-creativity people show (bilateral) increase in brain activity in various areas of the prefrontal cortex (compared to low-creativity subjects)

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

Enables high-level cognitive functions

Three basic PFC functions that allow high-level functions

1. Working memory

2. Temporal integration

3. Sustained and directed attention

Temporal integration

the integration of sensory, motor, and motivational functions towards goals and rewards

Left dorsolateral PFC function

Involved in semantic memory retrieval

Right dorsolateral PFC function

Sustained attention

Dorsolateral PFC general connections

heavily connected with temporal, occipital, and parietal regions of the cortex

Ventromedial PFC general connections

heavily connected to limbic system (amygdala and cingulate cortex)

Dietrich (2004)

- "deliberate creativity" = putting effort to coming up with creative solution

- "spontaneous creativity" = occurs during de-focused attention (ex: insight)

Which area of PFC seems important for deliberate creativity?

Dorsolateral PFC

Spontaneous creativity is primarily due to?

Temporal occipital parietal regions

Most common deficit associated with VMPFC lesions?

- Impaired social functions

Might VMPFC damage be beneficial to creativity?

No

Cerebellum

- research suggests it may make significant contributions to creativity

- involved in general timing and sequencing

- organized into parallel circuits allowing powerful processing capabilities

Ito (1997)

- explained how cerebellum manipulates ideas in similar way to how it manipulates motor control

- ideas/concepts are manipulated just like limbs are in movement

- when we repeatedly perform mental manipulations, the cerebellum works to make those manipulations smoother, faster, and more efficient

Cerebellum's Connections to Prefrontal Cortex

- cerebellum receives input from PFC via pons

- cerebellum sends its output to PFC via thalamus

- researchers believe cerebellum would be useful in processing novel situation requiring creative / innovative solutions

- activates working memory in PFC

- these deep connections suggest role in creative thinking

How does emotion play a role in creativity?

Emotions drive us to be creative, motivating us and making creative work emotionally important to us

Flaherty (2005)

Proposed model of creativity focusing on the interaction of:

1. Frontal lobes

2. Temporal lobes

3. Limbic system

What else did flaherty (2005) propose?

link between creative drive and hypergraphia and mania

Hypergraphia

compulsive drive to write

Hypergraphia is associated with what kind of brain activity?

Decrease in temporal lobe activity (most commonly, a lesion to the right temporal lobe)

What mechanism is thought to cause hypergraphia?

The equilibrium between right and left temporal lobes is disrupted, causing disinhibition of left- hemisphere language-related activity

disinhibition symptoms are similar to

mania

Most hypergraphics have

mania

Mania has been found to be associated with

increased creativity

Temporal lobes seem to be involved in

creative drive (or creative suppression)

Hypergraphics have increased drive, but

that doesn't mean they are producing a high quality creative product

How might creative drive help increase creative skill?

1. Practice effects

2. Darwinian model

Practice effects

the more you do something, the better you get at it

What is the Darwinian model?

If someone is driven to produce more ideas or creative works, more novel, original, or useful ideas will be created

What is the Darwinian model prediction?

Subjects who come up with the best ideas will usually be subjects who are most driven- creative "skill" is less important

Evidence to support Darwinian model prediction?

Research suggests that, for people who are above the IQ threshold for creativity, creativity is more dependent on the brain's motivational systems than on that person's creative "skill"

Bipolar Disorder

- psychological disorder most associated with creativity

- bipolar patients typically show increase in creativity when in manic phase

- bipolar disorder is associated with enlargement of amygdala

Flaherty (2005) (mania)

- suggests that alterations in functions of amygdala may cause the passionate interests in manic patients

- in most cases, the manic patient's "passionate pursuits" are misguided or risky, but in mild bipolar disorder, the passion can be turned to creative uses

- suggests that the high "goal-directedness" of creative arousal may be driven by the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway

Mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway

known as "reward pathway"- involved in all kinds of reward seeking activity (gambling, cocaine addiction, appreciation of beauty)

Savants

- show amazing excellence in some area (often creative) despite being severely brain-impaired

- may be that their skills are largely innate and reside equally in everybody- they just aren't accessible without a rare form of brain impairment

Snyder et al (2003)

- Used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to simulate temporary lesions of left front-temporal lobe

- 11 subjects were given drawing and proofreading tasks that were performed before, during, and after TMS

The front-temporal lobe is implicated in savant syndrome in

1. young artistic savants

2. savants who emerge late in life due to front-temporal lobe dementia

How many subjects showed stylistic changes in their drawings after TMS?

4/11: placebo had no effect

Did subjects' drawings revert back to original pre-TMS style after 45 minutes?

No, this suggests that this state may persist for a long time

Who is better at proofreading and why?

Savants because they are extremely literal and concentrate on parts rather than a whole

Snyder et al (2003) Proofreading Results

- two subjects showed improvement in proofreading after TMS

- TMS caused impairment leading to savant-like ability to see details of parts

- meaning was inhibited, which led to access to literal details

Norlander & Gustafon (1998)

- investigated effects of alcohol on divergent thinking

- subjects given "uses" task under one of three conditions: control, alcohol-influenced, placebo

Norlander & Gustafon (1998) results regarding originality scores?

People who received alcohol had the highest scores

Norlander & Gustafon (1998) results regarding flexibility scores?

people who received alcohol had lowest scores

Norlander & Gustafon (1998) results regarding fluency scores?

fluency was not affected by alcohol

Norlander & Gustafon (1998) effects of lower levels of alcohol (.05)?

Showed no effects on creativity

Norlander & Gustafon (1998) Conclusion

Under moderate doses of alcohol, people have slightly more original ideas, but are less flexible, not shifting their thinking as much as when they are sober

West (1983)

- Investigated effects of marijuana on creativity

- Subjects wrote stories after looking at picture from Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

- subjects wrote story before and after being given marijuana or placebo

West (1983) Results

Marijuana group wrote stories with higher primary process content than control subjects, and more primary process content when under the influence of marijuana than when not

Bourassa & Vaugeois (2001)

Compared creativity effects of marijuana on regular (3x/week) vs novice (never) users

Bourassa & Vaugeois (2001) results for novices

Marijuana had no effect

Bourassa & Vaugeois (2001) results for regular users

Reduced divergent thinking

Weckowitz et al (1975)

- similar as Bourassa & Vaugeois (2001)

- investigated different dosages of marijuana

Weckowitz et al (1975) results for low doses

Enhanced performance on divergent thinking tasks

Weckowitz et al (1975) results for higher doses

Inhibited performance on divergent thinking tasks

Nichols (1978)

reviewed 10 twin studies of divergent thinking

Average correlation of divergent thinking scores for identical twins

0.61

Average correlation of divergent thinking scores for fraternal twins

0.50