 |
| Research article summary (published 20 Apr 2009): |
Biochemical support for the "threshold" theory of creativity: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.
Full Abstract
A broadly accepted definition of creativity refers to the production of something both novel and useful within a given social context. Studies of patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders and neuroimaging studies of healthy controls have each drawn attention to frontal and temporal lobe contributions to creativity. Based on previous magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy studies demonstrating relationships between cognitive ability and concentrations of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), a common neurometabolite, we hypothesized that NAA assessed in gray and white matter (from a supraventricular slab) would relate to laboratory measures of creativity. MR imaging and divergent thinking measures were obtained in a cohort of 56 healthy controls. Independent judges ranked the creative products of each participant, from which a "Composite Creativity Index" (CCI) was created. Different patterns of correlations between NAA and CCI were found in higher verbal ability versus lower verbal ability participants, providing neurobiological support for a critical "threshold" regarding the relationship between intelligence and creativity. To our knowledge, this is the first report assessing the relationship between brain chemistry and creative cognition, as measured with divergent thinking, in a cohort comprised exclusively of normal, healthy participants.
Author information
Author/s: Jung, Rex E (RE); Gasparovic, Charles (C); Chavez, Robert S (RS); Flores, Ranee A (RA); Smith, Shirley M (SM); Caprihan, Arvind (A); Yeo, Ronald A (RA);
Affiliation: The Mind Research Network, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA. rjung(-atsign-)mrn.org
Grants: P20 RR021938-01A2 (Agency:NCRR NIH HHS)
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (J Neurosci), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2009-Apr; vol 29 (issue 16) : pp 5319-25
Dates: Created 2009/04/23; Completed 2009/05/22; Revised 2009/10/05;
PMID: 19386928, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/6/2009, IMS Date: 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):
Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.
This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.
MeSH headings (categories)
This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.
Related articles
This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.
See a large map of 100+ related articles.