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Functional lateralization of the medial temporal lobe in novel associative processing during creativity evaluation
Jingyuan Ren1,2, Furong Huang3, Chuanji Gao2
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|March 30, 2022
Summary
This study reveals hemispheric lateralization in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) for creativity. The left MTL processes usefulness, while the right MTL handles novelty, offering new insights into creative cognition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Hemispheric lateralization of creativity is debated, with unclear neurocognitive mechanisms.
- The medial temporal lobe (MTL) plays a role in memory and cognition, but its specific function in creativity is not well-defined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct roles of the left and right MTL in processing novelty and usefulness during creativity evaluation.
- To elucidate the neurocognitive underpinnings of functional lateralization in creative tasks.
Main Methods:
- Designed novel stimuli: "novel useful" and "novel useless," contrasted with "familiar useful" baseline.
- Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure MTL activation and functional connectivity.
- Employed multivoxel representational similarity analysis (RSA) to decode representational patterns within the MTL.
Main Results:
- Right MTL showed greater activation for "novel useful" and "novel useless" stimuli compared to baseline.
- "Novel useful" stimuli uniquely activated the left MTL.
- Left MTL distinguished usefulness in novel stimuli; left parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) connectivity predicted creativity evaluation.
Conclusions:
- Demonstrated functional lateralization of the MTL in creativity: left MTL for usefulness, right MTL for novelty.
- Identified distinct functional connectivity patterns for left and right PHG related to creativity.
- Provided novel insights into the neurocognitive mechanisms of creativity and hemispheric specialization.
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