Neural Activity When People Solve Verbal Problems with Insight

By Mark Jung-Beeman, Edward M. Bowden, Jason M. Haberman, J. Frymiare, Stella Arambel-Liu, R. Greenblatt, Paul J. Reber, John Kounios. PLoS Biology, 2004

952 citations recorded by the source corpus.

People sometimes solve problems with a unique process called insight, accompanied by an “Aha!” experience. It has long been unclear whether different cognitive and neural processes lead to insight versus noninsight solutions, or if solutions differ only in subsequent subjective feeling. Recent behavioral studies indicate distinct patterns of performance and suggest differential hemispheric involvement for insight and noninsight solutions. Subjects solved verbal problems, and after each correct solution indicated whether they solved with or without insight. We observed two objective neural correlates of insight. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (Experiment 1) revealed increased activity in the right hemisphere anterior superior temporal gyrus for insight relative to noninsight solutions. The same region was active during initial solving efforts. Scalp electroencephalogram recordings (Experiment 2) revealed a sudden burst of high-frequency (gamma-band) neural activity in the same area beginning 0.3 s prior to insight solutions. This right anterior temporal area is associated with making connections across distantly related information during comprehension. Although all problem solving relies on a largely shared cortical network, the sudden flash of insight occurs when solvers engage distinct neural and cognitive processes that allow them to see connections that previously eluded them.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bd39eb25595f6bf00f5ca2e749fdfb3453716332

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Citations in the corpus

Incubation and creativity: Do something different (2013, background): “Activation spreading through a semantic network could serve to produce such novel associations (Helie & Sun, 2010; Jung-Beeman et al., 2004).”
Active Inference, Curiosity and Insight (2017, methodology): “These simulations are not inconsistent with event-related potential and fMRI studies of insight, reviewed in the discussion (e.g., Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Mai, Luo, Wu, & Luo, 2004; Bowden et al., 2005).”
Sleep and the Price of Plasticity: From Synaptic and Cellular Homeostasis to Memory Consolidation and Integration (2014, background): “and that the same area is already activated during the initial solving efforts (Jung-Beeman et al., 2004).”
The cognitive underpinnings of creative thought: A latent variable analysis exploring the roles of intelligence and working memory in three creative thinking processes (2013, background): “Support for these claims come from electroencephalography (EEG) studies showing that performance on the RAT is linked to alpha power changes in the right posterior regions of the brain,which reflect low cortisol activation, defocused attention, and unconscious processing (Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; M”
The neural bases of social cognition and story comprehension. (2011, methodology): “The right aSTG region identified by these researchers is very close to the overlap observed for story-based and nonstory-based ToM studies (Figure 2D; Jung-Beeman et al. 2004, figure 2).”
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity: A Critical Review (2011, background): “Jung-Beeman et al. (2004) conducted a series of experiments to determine what happens in the brain when people are solving insight problems.”
Brain correlates underlying creative thinking: EEG alpha activity in professional vs. novice dancers (2009, positive): “Particularly EEG activity in the alpha frequency band has proven to be fairly sensitive to creativity-related demands (Bazanova and Aftanas, 2008; Fink et al., 2006, 2007, 2009; Jaušovec, 2000; Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Razumnikova, 2007; Martindale, 1999; Sandkühler and Bhattacharya , 2008).”
Differentiating insight from non-insight problems (2005, background): “Research on insight problem solving has a long history (e.g., Duncker, 1945; Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Knoblich, Ohlsson, Haider, & Rhenius, 1999; Ormerod, MacGregor, & Chronicle, 2002; Wertheimer, 1945; see also, Davidson, 2003, for a recent review) and a large number of different problems have…”
Stimulating Creativity: Modulation of Convergent and Divergent Thinking by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) (2015, background): “In addition, an extended line of research distinguishes between problem-solving strategies in the CRA task as either analytically or insight-led, with evidence that these two solving behaviors involve different neural networks (Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Kounios & Beeman, 2009).”
Unpacking Intuition: A Process and Outcome Framework (2011, background): “Jung-Beeman et al. (2004) mapped differences in neural activity between insight and noninsight problems, and observed that increased activations in the anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG) of the right hemisphere (RH) occurred at the moment of insight.”
A review of EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies of creativity and insight. (2010, methodology): “Although there are several studies that point to a special role of the right STG for insight events (Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Kounios et al., 2008; Qiu, Luo, Wu, & Zhang, 2006; Sandkühler & Bhattacharya, 2008), there are more studies that do not support this contention (Danko, Starchenko, &…”
Executive functions in insight versus non-insight problem solving: An individual differences approach (2009, background): “Jung-Beeman et al. (2004) reported functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) studies using CRAs and self-reports of insight or non-insight based solutions.”
The roles of the temporal lobe in creative insight: an integrated review (2017, methodology): “The roles of the STG in creative insight Increasing studies of the insightful brain have revealed that the STG, particularly the aSTG, is a critical temporal region for insight problem solving (Bechtereva et al., 2004; Jung-Beeman et al., 2004; Kounios et al., 2006; Sandk€ uhler & Bhattacharya, 2008”