The neural underpinnings of cross-cultural differences in creativity

A shared novelty-seeking basis for creativity and curiosity: Response to the commentators

In our target article, we proposed that curiosity and creativity are both manifestations of the same novelty-seeking process. We received 29 commentaries from diverse disciplines that add insights to our initial proposal. These commentaries ultimately expanded and supplemented our model. Here we draw attention to five central practical and theoretical issues that were raised by the commentators: (1) The complex construct of novelty and associated concepts; (2) the underlying subsystems and possible mechanisms; (3) the different pathways and subtypes of curiosity and creativity; (4) creativity and curiosity "in the wild"; (5) the possible link(s) between creativity and curiosity.

A shared novelty-seeking basis for creativity and curiosity

Curiosity and creativity are central pillars of human growth and invention. Although they have been studied extensively in isolation, the relationship between them has not yet been established. We propose that both curiosity and creativity emanate from the same mechanism of novelty seeking. We first present a synthesis showing that curiosity and creativity are affected similarly by a number of key cognitive faculties such as memory, cognitive control, attention, and reward. We then review empirical evidence from neuroscience research, indicating that the same brain regions are involved in both curiosity and creativity, focusing on the interplay between three major brain networks: the default mode network, the salience network, and the executive control network. After substantiating the link between curiosity and creativity, we propose a novelty-seeking model (NSM) that underlies them and suggests that the manifestation of the NSM is governed by one's state of mind.

Complex cognition and individual variability: a mixed methods study of the relationship between creativity and executive control

One of the methodological challenges of educational neuroscience is understanding real world cognition in the multifaceted environment of the classroom. Complex cognition does not simplify to processes (which might be satisfactorily measured in the lab) but to sets of activities, likely to vary between individuals, which involve the iterative use of multiple processes, as well as the environment, over an extended period of time. As such, studying complex cognition requires methodological flexibility; any single method is unlikely to provide complete answers. We illustrate this idea with our research exploring the relationship between executive control (EC) and creativity in primary school age children; in it, we used both qualitative and quantitative tools and a novel approach to bringing both sets of findings together. Quantitative findings helped inform 'how much' a participant could deploy EC or creative thinking, while qualitative findings told us more about 'how' they deployed EC in their creativity. Through triangulating findings, we gained insights which would have remained obscure using either approach alone; namely, first, that wide variation in how children deploy EC in creativity means that the same creative results can be achieved with very different levels of EC involvement, and second, that high levels of EC can limit creativity. We argue that, beyond the specific findings of this study, there might be useful broader methodological lessons for educational neuroscience. We also attempt to demystify mixed methods by showing that a multi-pronged approach is more feasible than many assume; for example, by using existing, familiar tools in novel ways. In our work, we redeployed well-established quantitative tests used in creativity research as stimuli for qualitative investigation. For educational neuroscience to evolve its understanding of complex cognition, we suggest it might benefit from being innovative, open-minded and ambitious in how it exploits the diversity of methodological tools available.

Uncovering neural distinctions and commodities between two creativity subsets: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies in divergent thinking and insight using activation likelihood estimation

The dual‐process theory that two different systems of thought coexist in creative thinking has attracted considerable attention. In the field of creative thinking, divergent thinking (DT) is the ability to produce multiple solutions to open‐ended problems in a short time. It is mainly considered an associative and fast process. Meanwhile, insight, the new and unexpected comprehension of close‐ended problems, is frequently marked as a deliberate and time‐consuming thinking process requiring concentrated effort. Previous research has been dedicated to revealing their separate neural mechanisms, while few studies have compared their differences and similarities at the brain level. Therefore, the current study applied Activation Likelihood Estimation to decipher common and distinctive neural pathways that potentially underlie DT and insight. We selected 27 DT studies and 30 insight studies for retrospective meta‐analyses. Initially, two single analyses with follow‐up contrast and conjunction analyses were performed. The single analyses showed that DT mainly involved the inferior parietal lobe (IPL), cuneus, and middle frontal gyrus (MFG), while the precentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), parahippocampal gyrus (PG), amygdala (AMG), and superior parietal lobe were engaged in insight. Compared to insight, DT mainly led to greater activation in the IPL, the crucial part of the default mode network. However, insight caused more significant activation in regions related to executive control functions and emotional responses, such as the IFG, MFG, PG, and AMG. Notably, the conjunction analysis detected no overlapped areas between DT and insight. These neural findings implicate that various neurocognitive circuits may support DT and insight.

Sex influences the brain functional connectivity correlates of originality

Creative cognition is thought to involve two processes, the creation of new ideas and the selection and retention of suitable new ideas. Neuroimaging studies suggest that the Default Mode Network contributes to the creation of new ideas while left inferior frontal and parieto-temporal cortical networks mediate the selection/retention process. Higher levels of activity in the selection/retention have been shown to be associated with stricter criteria for selection and hence the expression of fewer novel ideas. In this study, we examined the brain functional connectivity correlates of an originality score while 27 males and 27 females performed a low and a high demand visual vigilance task. Brain functional connectivity was estimated from the steady state visual evoked potential event related partial coherence. In the male group, we observed a hypothesized left frontal functional connectivity that was negatively correlated with originality in both tasks. By contrast, in the female group no significant correlation between functional connectivity and originality was observed in either task. We interpret the findings to suggest that males and females engaged different functional networks when performing the vigilance tasks. We conclude with a consideration of the possible risks when data pooling across sex in studies of higher cortical function.

A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of divergent thinking using activation likelihood estimation

There are conflicting findings regarding brain regions and networks underpinning creativity, with divergent thinking tasks commonly used to study this. A handful of meta-analyses have attempted to synthesise findings on neural mechanisms of divergent thinking. With the rapid proliferation of research and recent developments in fMRI meta-analysis approaches, it is timely to reassess the regions activated during divergent thinking creativity tasks. Of particular interest is examining the evidence regarding large-scale brain networks proposed to be key in divergent thinking and extending this work to consider the role of the semantic control network. Studies utilising fMRI with healthy participants completing divergent thinking tasks were systematically identified, with 20 studies meeting the criteria. Activation Likelihood Estimation was then used to integrate the neuroimaging results across studies. This revealed four clusters: the left inferior parietal lobe; the left inferior frontal and precentral gyrus; the superior and medial frontal gyrus and the right cerebellum. These regions are key in the semantic network, important for flexible retrieval of stored knowledge, highlighting the role of this network in divergent thinking.

Mapping Cultural Values onto the Brain: the Fragmented Landscape

Basic values are the core element of culture, explaining many important differences in social, economic and political effects. Yet the nature and the composition of cultural value systems remains highly debatable. An emerging field of cultural neuroscience promises to shed light on how societies differ in their value systems and on the low-level mechanisms through which they operate. A systematic review of 47 experimental studies using different brain research methods is conducted to identify neural systems and processes, which can be associated with specific values, irrespective of interpretations given by the authors of original studies. Key findings were extracted and systematized according to Hofstede's and some other (Trompenaars' and Gelfand's) models of national cultures. From the perspective of existing accounts of cultural value systems, existing literature provides only a very fragmented and biased view of the neural processing of values. Absolute majority of existing evidence (37 studies) of cultural differences in the brain functions can be associated with individualism-collectivism value dimension. Affectivity-Neutrality is identified in 11 studies, Tightness-Looseness - 6, Power Distance - 3; Indulgence, Long-Term Orientation and Universalism - 2, and Uncertainty Avoidance - 1. Other value dimensions from the applied models of culture are not represented at all. Key problems limiting the contribution of the contemporary culture neuroscience to the comparative studies of cultural values include: researchers' theoretical framing within the independence-interdependence paradigm, resulting in the loss of a broader perspective and alternative interpretations of findings, the lack of focus on the direct comparison of values and value dimensions, insufficiently representative and biased samples.

The function of the hippocampus and middle temporal gyrus in forming new associations and concepts during the processing of novelty and usefulness features in creative designs

Creative thought relies on the reorganization of existing knowledge to generate novel and useful concepts. However, how these new concepts are formed, especially through the processing of novelty and usefulness (which are usually regarded as the key properties of creativity), is not clear. Taking familiar and useful (FU) objects/designs as the starting point or fundamental baseline, we modified them into novel and useless (NS) objects/designs or novel and useful (NU) ones (i.e., truly creative ones) to investigate how the features of novelty and usefulness are processed (processing of novelty: NU minus FU; processing of usefulness: NU minus NS). Specifically, we predicted that the creative integration of novelty and usefulness entails not only the formation of new associations, which could be critically mediated by the hippocampus and adjacent medial temporal lobe (MTL) areas, but also the formation of new concepts or categories, which is supported by the middle temporal gyrus (MTG). We found that both the MTL and the MTG were involved in the processing of novelty and usefulness. The MTG showed distinctive patterns of information processing, reflected by strengthened functional connectivity with the hippocampus to construct new concepts and strengthened functional connectivity with the executive control system to break the boundaries of old concepts. Additionally, participants' subjective evaluations of concept distance showed that the distance between the familiar concept (FU) and the successfully constructed concept (NU) was larger than that between the FU and the unsuccessfully constructed concept (NS), and this pattern was found to correspond to the patterns of their neural representations in the MTG. These findings demonstrate the critical mechanism by which new associations and concepts are formed during novelty and usefulness processing in creative design; this mechanism may be critically mediated by the hippocampus-MTG connection.

Resting-state brain network properties mediate the association between the oxytocin receptor gene and interdependence

While an increasing number of behavioral findings have provided gene-culture coevolution accounts of human development, whether and how the brain mediates gene-culture associations remain unresolved. Based on the Culture-Behavior-Brain-Loop Model and the recent finding of associations between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR, rs53576) and a cultural trait (i.e., interdependence) across populations, we tested the hypothesis that resting-state brain network properties mediate the relationship between OXTR rs53576 and interdependence. G and A allele carriers of OXTR rs53576 were scanned during a resting state using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and completed questionnaires to estimate their interdependence cultural values. We identified significant genotype effects on the local network metrics of the right hippocampus and its functional connectivity with the medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, basal ganglia and thalamus. The local network metrics of the right hippocampus and its functional connectivity with the basal ganglia and thalamus were correlated with interdependence. Moreover, both the degree of the right hippocampus and its functional connectivity with the basal ganglia and thalamus mediated the relationship between OXTR and interdependence. Our results provide brain imaging evidence for a key function of the brain in mediating the relationship between genes and culture.

How Does Culture Shape Creativity? A Mini-Review

The purpose of this study was to examine how culture shapes creativity by reviewing empirical findings across diverse studies. The impact of culture on creativity is typically manifested in three ways: (1) people from different cultures or settings have distinct implicit and/or explicit conceptions of creativity; (2) individuals from different cultures, particularly those from individualist and collectivist cultures, show differences in preferred creative processes and creative processing modes (e.g., usefulness seems more important than novelty in the East, whereas novelty seems equally important as usefulness, if not more so, in the West) when they are engaged in creative endeavors; (3) creativity may be assessed using different measures based on culture-related contents or materials, and findings are accurate only when culturally appropriate or culturally fair measures are used. Potential implications and future directions are also proposed.

The neural underpinnings of cross-cultural differences in creativity

Whereas Western individualistic cultures emphasize uniqueness, collectivistic East-Asian cultures discourage it. Here we examined whether cross-cultural differences in creativity as measured by a task of divergent thinking (DT) are explained by enhanced activity in brain regions that mediate inhibitory control (e.g., the left inferior frontal gyrus [L-IFG]). We therefore predicted that the L-IFG would be "hyperactive" among individuals from East-Asian cultures compared to Western ones. In Study 1, Israeli and South Korean participants were compared on a classic DT task (AUT; "Alternate uses: Manual of instructions and interpretation"). Israelis generated more original ideas compared to South Koreans. In Study 2, Israeli participants and South Korean participants currently living in Israel were scanned while performing the AUT. In line with previous studies, the results indicate that generation of original ideas across cultures is associated with activation of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which is part of the default mode network (DMN). As hypothesized, South Koreans showed enhanced activation of the L-IFG compared to Israelis. This enhanced activation was associated with lower originality scores. The cultural dimension of traditionalism, being higher in the South Korean sample than in the Israeli Sample, was related to enhance L-IFG activity, further supporting our hypothesis regarding cultural influences on inhibitory control. Furthermore, functional connectivity analysis indicated that activation of the L-IFG was positively coupled with PCC activity among Israelis and with preSMA activity among South Koreans. The results suggest that cross-cultural differences in creativity might be explained by variations in inhibitory control.