Cognitive Disinhibition and Creativity

Eysenck (1995) and Martindale (1999) have proposed that creativity is characterized by cognitive disinhibition. Cognitive disinhibition is hypothesized to underlie many of the cognitive processes that have been associated with creative cognition, such as defocused attention and wide associative horizon. Whereas Eysenck (1995) argued that lower cognitive inhibition is a relatively permanent characteristic of the thinking style of creative people, Martindale (1999) has argued that creative people can focus or defocus attention depending on task demands. This dissertation describes four experiments that were designed to test the disinhibition theory in general, and specific predictions derived from Eysenck\u27s and Martindale\u27s versions of the theory in particular. In the first experiment, participants were presented with pairs of stimuli and instructed to determine whether the two stimuli were related. Participants who scored higher on the Remote Associates Test were faster in this task compared to those who scored lower. The result supported Eysenck\u27s (1995) and Martindale\u27s (1999) theories, suggesting that in creative people priming a concept is likely to activate representations of that concept more quickly than it would in noncreative people. The second experiment involved an investigation of the relationship between creativity and performance on a proactive inhibition task. The proactive inhibition task involves memory performance on five successive trials. Participants with higher scores on the Creative Personality Scale performed worse on the third trial than those with lower scores. This finding did not support the disinhibition theory. The third experiment was an investigation of the relationship between creativity and performance on a dichotic listening task. The results demonstrated that participants with higher scores on the Creative Personality Scale had better memory for words that were presented to the shadowed ear. Participants with higher scores on the Remote Associates Test had better memory for high-association words in the unattended ear. These results suggest that creative people can focus attention successfully, unless conditions facilitate a switching to a defocused mode. The fourth experiment involved the identification of colors that varied in terms of ambiguity. Creative participants were faster in identifying colors regardless of ambiguity. The addition of a concurrent task to the color identification task had a more detrimental effect on the performance of noncreative females than it did on the performance of creative females. The results suggest that in this experiment, ambiguity was conceptualized differently than it was by Kwiatkowski, Vartanian, and Martindale (1999), who found that creative participants were slower in a task that involved ambiguity

Buildings, Beauty, and the Brain: A Neuroscience of Architectural Experience

A burgeoning interest in the intersection of neuroscience and architecture promises to offer biologically inspired insights into the design of spaces. The goal of such interdisciplinary approaches to architecture is to motivate construction of environments that would contribute to peoples\u27 flourishing in behavior, health, and well-being. We suggest that this nascent field of neuroarchitecture is at a pivotal point in which neuroscience and architecture are poised to extend to a neuroscience of architecture. In such a research program, architectural experiences themselves are the target of neuroscientific inquiry. Here, we draw lessons from recent developments in neuroaesthetics to suggest how neuroarchitecture might mature into an experimental science. We review the extant literature and offer an initial framework from which to contextualize such research. Finally, we outline theoretical and technical challenges that lie ahead

Dissociable Neural Systems Underwrite Logical Reasoning in the Context of Induced Emotions with Positive and Negative Valence

How emotions influence syllogistic reasoning is not well understood. fMRI was employed to investigate the effects of induced positive or negative emotion on syllogistic reasoning. Specifically, on a trial-by-trial basis participants were exposed to a positive, negative, or neutral picture, immediately prior to engagement in a reasoning task. After viewing and rating the valence and intensity of each picture, participants indicated by keypress whether or not the conclusion of the syllogism followed logically from the premises. The content of all syllogisms was neutral, and the influence of belief-bias was controlled for in the study design. Emotion did not affect reasoning performance, although there was a trend in the expected direction based on accuracy rates for the positive (63%) and negative (64%) versus neutral (70%) condition. Nevertheless, exposure to positive and negative pictures led to dissociable patterns of neural activation during reasoning. Therefore, the neural basis of deductive reasoning differs as a function of the valence of the context

Individual differences in preference for architectural interiors

Preference for architectural interiors can be explained using three psychological dimensions: Coherence (ease for organizing and comprehending a scene), Fascination (a scene's informational richness and generated interest), and Hominess (how much a space feels personal). We tested the hypothesis that their contributions to preference might vary based on individual differences by analyzing data from design students, participants with autism spectrum disorder, and neurotypical controls who rated images of interiors on liking and approach-avoidance decisions. For design students, only Coherence drove choices, whereas in participants with autism spectrum disorder and neurotypical controls Hominess and Fascination also contributed, respectively. Coherence is paramount for design students because it references the structural organization of spaces, and is informed by formal training. For autism spectrum disorder, Hominess matters because preference for familiarity, physical proximity, and difficulty in mental simulation are relevant to that population, whereas interest in visual exploration can explain Fascination's role in neurotypical controls

Visual preference for abstract curvature and for interior spaces: beyond undergraduate student samples

Smoothly curved objects elicit feelings of pleasantness, and tend to be preferred over angular objects. Furthermore, individual differences (i.e., art expertise, openness to experience, holistic thinking), and the complexity of the stimuli are known to moderate the effect. We extended the study of individual differences to two theoretically-relevant groups. Study 1 compared liking for curvature in individuals with autism and a matched neurotypical control group (for age, gender and IQ). Because preference for curvature depends on both sensory (visuospatial) and affective input, for which individuals with autism exhibit anomalies, we hypothesized a difference in preference for curved stimuli between the two groups. Study 2 examined preference for curvature in a group of quasi-expert students of design. Because working architects and designers tend to regard curved interior spaces as beautiful, we hypothesized to replicate this effect within quasi-experts as well, thereby extending the effect across levels of expertise. Using an identical methodology across both studies, we administered abstract stimuli consisting of irregular polygons (angular vs. curved) and patterns of coloured lines (angular vs. curved), as well as concrete stimuli consisting of images of interior spaces. Preference for curvature was confirmed with abstract stimuli in all three groups. For interior design, the curvature effect diminished in magnitude, and this was especially evident in individuals with autism. Interestingly, quasi-experts preferred rectilinear over curvilinear interiors. We discuss the results in relation to the impact of individual differences and expertise on preference for curvature, and their implication for design studies in ecologically valid settings

Blast in Context: The Neuropsychological and Neurocognitive Effects of Long-Term Occupational Exposure to Repeated Low-Level Explosives on Canadian Armed Forces\u27 Breaching Instructors and Range Staff

Currently, there is strong interest within the military to better understand the effects of long-term occupational exposure to repeated low-level blast on health and performance. To gain traction on the chronic sequelae of blast, we focused on breaching—a tactical technique for gaining entry into closed/blocked spaces by placing explosives and maintaining a calculated safe distance from the detonation. Using a cross-sectional design, we compared the neuropsychological and neurocognitive profiles of breaching instructors and range staff to sex- and age-matched Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) controls. Univariate tests demonstrated that breaching was associated with greater post-concussive symptoms (Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire) and lower levels of energy (RAND SF-36). In addition, breaching instructors and range staff were slower on a test that requires moving and thinking simultaneously (i.e., cognitive-motor integration). Next, using a multivariate approach, we explored the impact of other possible sources of injury, including concussion and prior war-zone deployment on the same outcomes. Concussion history was associated with higher post-concussive scores and musculoskeletal problems, whereas deployment was associated with higher post-concussive scores, but lower energy and greater PTSD symptomatology (using PCL-5). Our results indicate that although breaching, concussion, and deployment were similarly correlated with greater post-concussive symptoms, concussion history appears to be uniquely associated with altered musculoskeletal function, whereas deployment history appears to be uniquely associated with lower energy and risk of PTSD. We argue that the broader injury context must, therefore, be considered when studying the impact of repetitive low-level explosives on health and performance in military members

Neuroenhancement in Military Personnel::Conceptual and Methodological Promises and Challenges

Military personnel face harsh conditions that strain their physical and mental well-being, depleting resources necessary for sustained operational performance. Future operations will impose even greater demands on soldiers in austere environments with limited support, and new training and technological approaches are essential. This report highlights the progress in cognitive neuroenhancement research, exploring techniques such as neuromodulation and neurofeedback, and emphasizes the inherent challenges and future directions in the field of cognitive neuroenhancement for selection, training, operations, and recovery

A Distinct Metabolite Signature in Military Personnel Exposed to Repetitive Low-Level Blasts

Military Breachers and Range Staff (MBRS) are subjected to repeated sub-concussive blasts, and they often report symptoms that are consistent with a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Biomarkers of blast injury would potentially aid blast injury diagnosis, surveillance and avoidance. Our objective was to identify plasma metabolite biomarkers in military personnel that were exposed to repeated low-level or sub-concussive blast overpressure. A total of 37 military members were enrolled (18 MBRS and 19 controls), with MBRS having participated in 8–20 breaching courses per year, with a maximum exposure of 6 blasts per day. The two cohorts were similar except that the number of blast exposures were significantly higher in the MBRS, and the MBRS cohort suffered significantly more post-concussive symptoms and poorer health on assessment. Metabolomics profiling demonstrated significant differences between groups with 74% MBRS classification accuracy (CA). Feature reduction identified 6 metabolites that resulted in a MBRS CA of 98%, and included acetic acid (23.7%), formate (22.6%), creatine (14.8%), acetone (14.2%), methanol (12,7%), and glutamic acid (12.0%). All 6 metabolites were examined with individual receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses and demonstrated areas-under-the-curve (AUCs) of 0.82–0.91 (P ≤ 0.001) for MBRS status. Several parsimonious combinations of three metabolites increased accuracy of ROC curve analyses to AUCs of 1.00 (P \u3c 0.001), while a combination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs; acetic acid, acetone and methanol) yielded an AUC of 0.98 (P \u3c 0.001). Candidate biomarkers for chronic blast exposure were identified, and if validated in a larger cohort, may aid surveillance and care of military personnel. Future point-of-care screening could be developed that measures VOCs from breath, with definitive diagnoses confirmed with plasma metabolomics profiling

COGNITIVE DISINHIBITION AND CREATIVITY BY

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