Creativity as an information-based process

Abstract: Creativity, mostly ignored in Western philosophy due to its supposed mysteriousness, has recently become a respected research topic in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. We discuss how in science the approach has mainly been to describe creativity as an information-based process, coherently with a computational view of the human mind started with the cognitive revolution. This view has produced progressively convincing models of creativity, up to current artificial neural network systems, vaguely inspired by biological neural processing, but already competing with human creativity in several fields. These successes suggest that creativity might not be an exclusively human function, but actually a way of functioning of any natural or artificial system implementing the creative process. We conclude by acknowledging that the information-based view of creativity has tremendous explanatory and generative power, but we propose a thought experiment to start discussing how it actually leaves out the experiential side of being creative.Keywords:  Creative Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Computational Creativity; Generative Algorithms; Cognitive Science La creatività come processo basato sull’informazioneRiassunto: La creatività, spesso ignorata dalla filosofia occidentale per la sua presunta oscurità, in tempi recenti è diventata un rispettabile oggetto di ricerca per la psicologia, la neuroscienza e l’intelligenza artificiale. Vogliamo illustrare il modo in cui lo sguardo scientifico sia rivolto prevalentemente a considerare la creatività come processo information-based, coerentemente con la prospettiva computazionale sulla mente umana aperta dalla rivoluzione cognitiva. Questa prospettiva ha prodotto modelli della creatività sempre più convincenti, fino agli attuali sistemi di reti neurali artificiali, vagamente inspirati al processamento biologico neurale, ma già competitivi rispetto alla creatività umana in molti ambiti. Questi successi suggeriscono che la creatività possa non essere una funzione esclusivamente umana ma in effetti un modo di funzionare di un sistema naturale o artificiale capace di implementare il processo creativo. In conclusione, pur riconoscendo come il considerare la creatività come processo information-based possieda grande potere esplicativo e generativo, proporremo un esperimento mentale per aprire una discussione sul come questa prospettiva non copra in effetti il lato esperienziale dell’essere creativo.Parole chiave: Cognizione creativa; Neuroscienza cognitiva; Creatività computazionale; Algoritmi generativi; Scienza cognitivaAbstract: Creativity, mostly ignored in Western philosophy due to its supposed mysteriousness, has recently become a respected research topic in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. We discuss how in science the approach has mainly been to describe creativity as an information-based process, coherently with a computational view of the human mind started with the cognitive revolution. This view has produced progressively convincing models of creativity, up to current artificial neural network systems, vaguely inspired by biological neural processing, but already competing with human creativity in several fields. These successes suggest that creativity might not be an exclusively human function, but actually a way of functioning of any natural or artificial system implementing the creative process. We conclude by acknowledging that the information-based view of creativity has tremendous explanatory and generative power, but we propose a thought experiment to start discussing how it actually leaves out the experiential side of being creative.Keywords:  Creative Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Computational Creativity; Generative Algorithms; Cognitive Science La creatività come processo basato sull’informazioneRiassunto: La creatività, spesso ignorata dalla filosofia occidentale per la sua presunta oscurità, in tempi recenti è diventata un rispettabile oggetto di ricerca per la psicologia, la neuroscienza e l’intelligenza artificiale. Vogliamo illustrare il modo in cui lo sguardo scientifico sia rivolto prevalentemente a considerare la creatività come processo information-based, coerentemente con la prospettiva computazionale sulla mente umana aperta dalla rivoluzione cognitiva. Questa prospettiva ha prodotto modelli della creatività sempre più convincenti, fino agli attuali sistemi di reti neurali artificiali, vagamente inspirati al processamento biologico neurale, ma già competitivi rispetto alla creatività umana in molti ambiti. Questi successi suggeriscono che la creatività possa non essere una funzione esclusivamente umana ma in effetti un modo di funzionare di un sistema naturale o artificiale capace di implementare il processo creativo. In conclusione, pur riconoscendo come il considerare la creatività come processo information-based possieda grande potere esplicativo e generativo, proporremo un esperimento mentale per aprire una discussione sul come questa prospettiva non copra in effetti il lato esperienziale dell’essere creativo.Parole chiave: Cognizione creativa; Neuroscienza cognitiva; Creatività computazionale; Algoritmi generativi; Scienza cognitiv

The role of medial prefrontal cortex in processing emotional self-referential information: a combined TMS/fMRI study

In this study we investigate the neural basis of emotional content in self-referential processing by using a combination of off-line repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) applied to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and whole-brain functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).We applied effective or ineffective (sham) 1-Hz rTMS to the mPFC of 14 healthy participants who immediately thereafter underwent fMRI while performing a personality attribution task to self or to others. rTMS produced an increase in the participants' reaction time ( 48 60 msec) when processing negative attributes. The neuroimaging findings indicated the involvement of a network of cortical nodes distant from those at the stimulation site; these distant nodes showed task-specific changes in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity after effective TMS. The posterior cingulate cortex seemingly encoded the negative dimension of stimuli, but it did not differentiate between self or other. On the contrary the left angular gyrus and the left anterior temporal cortex showed changes indicating encoding of negative self-directed categorization. The mPFC region did not show effects of rTMS along the self-other dimension, but only along the affective dimension. The results indicate that the mPFC is a pivotal node in a cortical network that supports affective referential reasoning. Therefore, a key function of mPFC seems to be related to the processing of negative attributes. In the other nodes of the network the two dimensions of self-other attribution and affective attribution are partially independent, but largely overlapping with different degrees of local specialization

Integration in working memory::A magnetic stimulation study on the role of left anterior prefrontal cortex

Integration is a fundamental working memory operation, requiring the insertion of information from one task into the execution of another concurrent task. Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested the involvement of left anterior prefrontal cortex (L-aPFC) in relation to working memory integration demands, increasing during presentation of information to be integrated (loading), throughout its maintenance during a secondary task, up to the integration step, and then decreasing afterward (unloading). Here we used short bursts of 5 Hz repetitive Transcranic Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to modulate L-aPFC activity and to assess its causal role in integration. During experimental blocks, rTMS was applied (N = 10) over L-aPFC or vertex (control site) at different time-points of a task involving integration of a preloaded digit into a sequence of arithmetical steps, and contrasted with a closely matched task without integration demand (segregation). When rTMS was applied during the loading phase, reaction times during secondary task were faster, without significant changes in error rates. RTMS instead worsened performance when applied during information unloading. In contrast, no effects were observed when rTMS was applied during the other phases of integration, or during the segregation condition. These results confirm the hypothesis that L-aPFC is causally and selectively involved in the integration of information in working memory. They additionally suggest that pre-integration loading and post-integration unloading of information involving this area may be active and resource-consuming processes

A Supervised Machine Learning Approach to Classify Brain Morphology of Professional Visual Artists versus Non-Artists

This study aimed to investigate whether there are structural differences in the brains of professional artists who received formal training in the visual arts and non-artists who did not have any formal training or professional experience in the visual arts, and whether these differences can be used to accurately classify individuals as being an artist or not. Previous research using functional MRI has suggested that general creativity involves a balance between the default mode network and the executive control network. However, it is not known whether there are structural differences between the brains of artists and non-artists. In this study, a machine learning method called Multi-Kernel Learning (MKL) was applied to gray matter images of 12 artists and 12 non-artists matched for age and gender. The results showed that the predictive model was able to correctly classify artists from non-artists with an accuracy of 79.17% (AUC 88%), and had the ability to predict new cases with an accuracy of 81.82%. The brain regions most important for this classification were the Heschl area, amygdala, cingulate, thalamus, and parts of the parietal and occipital lobes as well as the temporal pole. These regions may be related to the enhanced emotional and visuospatial abilities that professional artists possess compared to non-artists. Additionally, the reliability of this circuit was assessed using two different classifiers, which confirmed the findings. There was also a trend towards significance between the circuit and a measure of vividness of imagery, further supporting the idea that these brain regions may be related to the imagery abilities involved in the artistic process

DECLARATION

A framework for implicit plannin

Self-Cognition and Parental Brain

A key feature of parenting is that it is observable starting from behaviors that are performed daily by adult caregivers during repeated interactions with the child. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research on parental brain should integrate settings that resemble ecologies of situations in which parents typically care for children. However, as our commentators point out, ecological settings in fMRI research are challenging and require a multiperspective approach that systematically considers psychological and behavioral complexities of “mommy brain” to better understand how contingent mental states of mothers articulate with specific multi-tasking situations.Accepted versio

Sex differences in directional brain responses to infant hunger cries

Infant cries are a critical survival mechanism that draw the attention of adult caregivers, who can then satisfy the basic needs of otherwise helpless infants. Here, we used functional neuroimaging to investigate the effects of infant hunger cries on brain activity of adults who were in a cognitively non-demanding mental state of awake rest. We found that the brains of males and females, independent of parental status (parent or non parent), reacted differently to infant cries. Specifically, dorsal medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate areas, known to be involved in mind-wandering (the stream of thought typical of awake rest), remained active in men during exposure to infant cries, whereas in women activity in these regions decreased. These results reveal gender-dependent modulation of brain responses to infant requests to be fed, and specifically they indicate that women interrupt mind-wandering when exposed to the sounds of infant hunger cries, whereas men carry on without interruption

Brain Processes in Mothers and Nulliparous Women in Response to Cry in Different Situational Contexts: A Default Mode Network Study

Objective: In everyday life, parents must respond to and interact with children while in different situational contexts. How situational contexts influence parents’ responses has not been systematically studied. Here we investigated mothers’ versus nonmothers’ neural responses to infant vocalizations in different situations with different task demands. Design: Using fMRI in 21 women (10 mothers), we explored the effects of being distracted by self-oriented (self-referential decisions about personality adjectives) versus goal-oriented (syllabic counting of personality adjectives) tasks while listening to infant cry in comparison with other emotional sounds (infant laughing, adult crying) on the activity of two medial nodes of the Default Mode Network (DMN): the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Results: In the self-oriented task while listening to infant cry, both mothers and nulliparas showed (weak) activation of the DMN; this response likely reflects a shift of attention from the task to the cry. In the goal-oriented task, mothers, not nulliparas, showed (weak) activation of the DMN; this result is compatible with interference of emotional sounds while attending to a goal-oriented task, an activity that deactivates the DMN. Conclusions: Mothers are prone to process infant cry and emotional sounds and are less distracted from doing so by situational contexts, demonstrating their greater sensitivity to emotional sounds such as cry. By contrast, situational context influenced brain responses to infant sounds in nulliparas.Nanyang Technological UniversityAccepted versionThis study was supported by the NAP-SUG program of the Nanyang Technological University (GE). This research was also supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH/NICHD, USA, and an International Research Fellowship in collaboration with the Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policies (EDePo) at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), London, UK, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program [grant agreement No 695300-HKADeC-ERC-2015-AdG]