Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling
Many theories suggest that creative thinking involves a dynamic transition between different mental states, yet empirical evidence supporting this notion remains scarce. The dual process model proposes that spontaneous thinking and deliberate thinking drive the dwell in and the transitions between d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | NeuroImage |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925000552 |
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| _version_ | 1832540431741616128 |
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| author | Xitong Liang Mingnan Cai Gaohan Jing Chengming Zhang Emily Sophia Nichols Li Liu |
| author_facet | Xitong Liang Mingnan Cai Gaohan Jing Chengming Zhang Emily Sophia Nichols Li Liu |
| author_sort | Xitong Liang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many theories suggest that creative thinking involves a dynamic transition between different mental states, yet empirical evidence supporting this notion remains scarce. The dual process model proposes that spontaneous thinking and deliberate thinking drive the dwell in and the transitions between different mental states during creative thinking, but there is a debate over whether the two types of thinking operate in parallel or in sequence. To address these gaps, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 41 college students during a creative storytelling task. We then compared the dynamic brain states in creative versus uncreative storytelling to identify key brain states associated with creative thinking. And we further performed correlation analysis between these key brain states with performance of various creative tasks, trying to link the key brain states with different cognitive processes. The results showed that two key brain states are associated with creative thinking, with one involving whole-brain synchronization and the other involving the synchronization of four networks, including the default mode network and the control network. The transition patterns between the key brain states provide tentative evidence for dynamic circulation between different mental states during creative storytelling. Using a deep learning approach, we demonstrate an alternating interaction between spontaneous and deliberate thinking, driving dwelling in and the transitions between different brain states. These findings deepen our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying creative thinking. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f5ecd1833ace443590e6ac6e7a44ba22 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1095-9572 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | NeuroImage |
| spelling | doaj-art-f5ecd1833ace443590e6ac6e7a44ba222025-02-05T04:31:14ZengElsevierNeuroImage1095-95722025-03-01308121053Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytellingXitong Liang0Mingnan Cai1Gaohan Jing2Chengming Zhang3Emily Sophia Nichols4Li Liu5State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern, Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern, Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern, Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern, Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR ChinaApplied Psychology, Faculty of Education, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Western Institute for Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario, CanadaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern, Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China; Corresponding author.Many theories suggest that creative thinking involves a dynamic transition between different mental states, yet empirical evidence supporting this notion remains scarce. The dual process model proposes that spontaneous thinking and deliberate thinking drive the dwell in and the transitions between different mental states during creative thinking, but there is a debate over whether the two types of thinking operate in parallel or in sequence. To address these gaps, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in 41 college students during a creative storytelling task. We then compared the dynamic brain states in creative versus uncreative storytelling to identify key brain states associated with creative thinking. And we further performed correlation analysis between these key brain states with performance of various creative tasks, trying to link the key brain states with different cognitive processes. The results showed that two key brain states are associated with creative thinking, with one involving whole-brain synchronization and the other involving the synchronization of four networks, including the default mode network and the control network. The transition patterns between the key brain states provide tentative evidence for dynamic circulation between different mental states during creative storytelling. Using a deep learning approach, we demonstrate an alternating interaction between spontaneous and deliberate thinking, driving dwelling in and the transitions between different brain states. These findings deepen our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying creative thinking.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925000552fMRICreative thinkingStorytellingBrain stateDeep learning |
| spellingShingle | Xitong Liang Mingnan Cai Gaohan Jing Chengming Zhang Emily Sophia Nichols Li Liu Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling NeuroImage fMRI Creative thinking Storytelling Brain state Deep learning |
| title | Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling |
| title_full | Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling |
| title_short | Dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling |
| title_sort | dynamic cycles between brain states during creative storytelling |
| topic | fMRI Creative thinking Storytelling Brain state Deep learning |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925000552 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xitongliang dynamiccyclesbetweenbrainstatesduringcreativestorytelling AT mingnancai dynamiccyclesbetweenbrainstatesduringcreativestorytelling AT gaohanjing dynamiccyclesbetweenbrainstatesduringcreativestorytelling AT chengmingzhang dynamiccyclesbetweenbrainstatesduringcreativestorytelling AT emilysophianichols dynamiccyclesbetweenbrainstatesduringcreativestorytelling AT liliu dynamiccyclesbetweenbrainstatesduringcreativestorytelling |