Creativity: a (white) matter of connectivity

In a cohort of 142 young adults, we probed how figural creative ideation maps onto white matter microstructure, aiming to challenge and refine the dominant view that creativity is driven by widely distributed brain networks. Figural creativity was assessed with the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production, and its neural correlates were examined using two diffusion imaging metrics: quantitative anisotropy (QA) and fractional anisotropy (FA). Connectometry analyses uncovered robust, widespread positive associations between creative performance and white matter integrity, with the strongest effects in corticostriatal, corticopontine, and corticospinal pathways; commissural fibers such as the corpus callosum; and key association tracts including the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. Together, these results spotlight sensory, motor, and sensorimotor tracts as core conduits for figural creative ideation, rather than mere supporting players. QA consistently outperformed FA in detecting these creativity-related patterns, underscoring the value of deploying multiple white matter metrics in creativity research. By directly contrasting QA and FA, this study sharpens our understanding of the structural neural architecture underpinning creative processes and highlights the unique power of QA to capture microstructural features that are especially critical for figural creative performance.