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Time course of EEG power during creative problem-solving with insight or remote thinking

Théophile Bieth, Marcela Ovando-Tellez, Alizée Lopez-Persem, Beatrice Garcin, Laurent Hugueville, Katia Lehongre, Richard Levy, Nathalie George, View ORCID ProfileEmmanuelle Volle
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.26.470102
Théophile Bieth
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
2Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, DMU Neuroscience, Paris, France
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  • For correspondence: emmavolle@gmail.com theo_bieth@hotmail.fr
Marcela Ovando-Tellez
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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Alizée Lopez-Persem
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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Beatrice Garcin
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
3Neurology Department, Avicenne Hospital, AP-HP, Bobigny, France
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Laurent Hugueville
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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Katia Lehongre
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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Richard Levy
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
2Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, AP-HP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, DMU Neuroscience, Paris, France
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Nathalie George
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
4Institut du Cerveau - ICM, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre MEG-EEG, CENIR, 75013, Paris, France
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Emmanuelle Volle
1Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
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  • ORCID record for Emmanuelle Volle
  • For correspondence: emmavolle@gmail.com theo_bieth@hotmail.fr
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Abstract

Problem-solving often requires creativity and is critical in everyday life. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative problem-solving remain poorly understood. Two mechanisms have been highlighted: forming new connections from and between the problem elements and insight solving (with a sudden realization of a solution). We examined EEG activity during an adapted version of a classical insight problem task, the Remote Associates Test, that requires finding a word connecting three words. It allowed us to explore remoteness in semantic connections (by varying the remoteness of the solution word across trials) and insight solving (identified as a “Eurêka” moment reported by the participants). Semantic remoteness was associated with a power increase in alpha band (8-12Hz) in a left parieto-temporal cluster, beta band (13-30Hz) in a right fronto-temporal cluster in the early phase of the task, and theta band (3-7Hz) in frontal cluster before the participants responded. Insight solving was associated with power increase preceding the response in alpha and gamma band (31-60Hz) in left temporal clusters and theta band in a frontal cluster. Source reconstructions show the brain regions associated with these clusters. Overall, our findings shed new light on the dynamic of some of the mechanisms involved in creative problem-solving.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted November 27, 2021.
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Time course of EEG power during creative problem-solving with insight or remote thinking
Théophile Bieth, Marcela Ovando-Tellez, Alizée Lopez-Persem, Beatrice Garcin, Laurent Hugueville, Katia Lehongre, Richard Levy, Nathalie George, Emmanuelle Volle
bioRxiv 2021.11.26.470102; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.26.470102
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Time course of EEG power during creative problem-solving with insight or remote thinking
Théophile Bieth, Marcela Ovando-Tellez, Alizée Lopez-Persem, Beatrice Garcin, Laurent Hugueville, Katia Lehongre, Richard Levy, Nathalie George, Emmanuelle Volle
bioRxiv 2021.11.26.470102; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.26.470102

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