Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on brain networks related to creative thinking

Abstract

Creative thinking generating novel and valuable ideas is unique to humans. Recent research has clarified the contribution of different brain networks (Default Mode Network, DN; Executive Control Network; Salience Network) to creative thinking. However, the effects of brain stimulation on the interaction of brain networks during creative thinking and on creative performance have not been clarified. The present study was designed to examine the changes in functional connectivity (FC) and effective connectivity (EC) of the large-scale brain network, and the ensuing changes in creative performance, induced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Sixteen healthy male students underwent two tDCS sessions, one with actual stimulation and one with sham stimulation, on two separate days. Participants underwent tDCS (anode over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC; cathode over the right inferior parietal lobule, IPL) for 20 minutes. Before and after the tDCS session, electroencephalography signals were acquired from 32 electrodes over the whole head during the creative thinking task. On the FC analysis, the delta band FC between posterior cingulate cortex and IPL significantly increased only after real stimulation. We also found that the change in alpha band FC between IPL and lateral temporal cortex was significantly correlated with the change of flexibility score. On the EC analysis, increased flow of higher frequency oscillations within a large-scale brain network and decreased flow within the DN were observed. Our results reveal that tDCS could change brain network interactions related to creative thinking and modulate the key FC in the generation of flexible creative ideas.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Brain Networks Related to Creative Thinking

“…Although we analyzed the same experimental data for these conferences, after receiving feedback from other researchers, we changed the analysis method and added new contents in this article. This manuscript has been released as a pre-print at BioRxiv.org (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.08.981506v2) (Koizumi et al, 2020).…”