Abstract
According to the results of psychological testing, persons aged 18 to 21 years were divided into four groups, women and men with low and high productivity of divergent (creative, nonroutine) thinking (n = = 18 to 23). Results of EEG recording (19 leads) were used for calculation of the coherence coefficients for oscillations of the delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2, alpha3, beta, and gamma frequencies in lead pairs and estimation of integral indices of coherence within the anterior and posterior cortical regions and between these zones (interaction coefficients, IC1-IC3, respectively). EEG was recorded in the resting state and in the course of resolving convergent- and divergent-type cognitive test tasks. It was found that, during the performance of tests of both types, men with a higher productivity of divergent thinking demonstrated significantly higher values of IC1 (that characterizes the coherence in associative linkages within the anterior cortex) for oscillations of all EEG frequency ranges compared with the respective estimates for “low-creative” men. Similar increments were typical of the IC2 values for low- and midfrequency EEG rhythms (delta, theta, and alpha). At the same time, values of the “interregional” IC3 for theta, beta, and gamma activity in “high-creativity” men were significantly lower. In women of both groups (low and high creativity), such specificity of the IC1-IC3 patterns was practically not observed, i.e., the respective aspect demonstrated clear gender specificity. The sex of the subjects and type of the performed cognitive tests could not be considered factors significantly affecting the calculated absolute IC values. The observed specificities of integral coherence indices are probably associated with different strategies of the performance of cognitive tasks in men and women. Our findings allow us to believe that the above interrelations between integrated coherence indices can be used as EEG markers of high productivity of divergent thinking in men. The more flexible strategies of thinking in women are probably related to more variable neurophysiological cortical mechanisms (compared with those in men), and this type of organization is not clearly reflected in the pattern of intracortical interactions estimated by coherence indices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. P. Guilford, “Is some creative thinking irrational?,” J. Creat. Behav., 16, No. 3, 151–154 (1982).
l. Yu. Starchenko, Psychology of Mass Communication. Diagnostics and Activation of Creative Abilities, A Teaching Aid [Digital version] http://dvo.sut.ru/libr/soirl/i136star/3.htm
An. Fingelkurts, Al. Fingelkurts, C. Krause, et al., “Structural (operational) synchrony of EEG alpha activity during an auditory memory task,” Neuroimage, 20, No. 1, 529–542 (2003).
G. G. Supp, A. Schlögl, N. Trujillo-Barreto, et al., “Directed cortical information flow during human object recognition: analyzing induced EEG gamma-band responses in brain’s source space,” PloS one. 2, No. 8, 684 (2007).
R. W. Thatcher, D. North, and C. Biver, “EEG and intelligence: relations between EEG coherence, EEG phase delay and power,” Clin. Neurophysiol., 116, No. 9, 2129–2141 (2005).
V. T. Kozlova, Development of the Techniques of Estimation of the Labile Neural Processes in Mental/Verbal Activity, Abstract of thesis for Cand. Psychol. Deg., Moscow (1973).
G. S. Altshuller, How to Find an Idea, Nauka, Novosibirsk (1986).
W. Klimesch, “EEG alpha and theta oscillations reflect cognitive and memory performance: a review and analysis,” Brain Res. Rev. 29, No. 2/3, 169–195 (1999).
C. Carmeli, M.G. Knyazeva, G. M. Innocenti, and O. De Feo, “Assessment of EEG synchronization based on state-space analysis,” Neuroimage, 25, No. 2, 339–354 (2005).
G. Winterer, M. F. Egan, T. Radler, et al., “An association between reduced interhemispheric EEG coherence in the temporal lobe and genetic risk for schizophrenia,” Schizophren. Res., 49, No. 1, 129–143. 2001
F. Varela, J-Ph. Lachaux, E. Rodriguez, and . Martinerie, “The brainweb: phase synchronization and large-scale integration,” Nat. Rev. Neurosci., 2, No. 4, 229–239 (2001).
J. Sarnthein, H. Petsche, P. Rappelsberger, et al., “Synchronization between prefrontal and posterior association cortex during human working memory,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95, No. 12, 7092–7096 (1998).
P. Sauseng, W. Klimesch, M. Schabus, M. Doppelmayr, “Fronto-parietal EEG coherence in theta and upper alpha reflect central executive functions of working memory,” Int.. J. Psychophysiol.,. 57, No. 2, 97–103 (2005).
N. V. Volf, “Gender differences at memorization of dichotically presented lists of words,” Zh. Vyssh. Nerv. Deyat., 44, No. 1, 18–24 (1994).
Ye. A. Panasevich and M. N. Tsitseroshin, “Gender pecularities of the spatio-temporal organization of brain biopotentials in adults and 5–6-year-old children in the calm awake state,” Fiziol. Chelov., 37, No. 4, 13–25 (2011).
O. M. Razumnikova and N. V. Volf, “Selection of visual hierarchical stimuli at global and local levels in men and women,” Fiziol. Chelov., 37, No. 2, 14–19 (2011).
B. A. Klinteberg, S. E. Levander, and D. Schalling, “Cognitive sex differences: speed and problem-solving strategies on computerized neuropsychological tasks,” Percept. Motor Skills, 65, No, 3, 683–697 (1987).
R. F. McGivern, J. P. Huston, D. Byrd, et al., “Sex differences in visual recognition memory: support for sex-related differences in attention in adults and children,” Brain Cogm. 34, No. 3, 323–336 (1997).
J. Meyer-Levy, “Gender differences in information processing: a selectivity interpretation,” in: Cognitive and Affective Responses to Advertising, P. Cafferata and A. M. Tybout, eds., Lexington Books, Canada (1998), pp. 128–140.
E. K. Miller and J. D. Cohen, “An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function,” Annu. Rev. Neurosci., 24, No. 1, 123–167 (2001).
N. P. Bechtereva, M. G. Starchenko, V. A. Klyucharev, et al., “Study of the cerebral organization of creative activity. Comm. II, Data of positron/emission tomography,” Fiziol. Chelov., 26, No. 5, 12–15 (2000).
O. M. Razumnikova, Functional Organization of the Brain Cortex at Divergent and Convergent Thinking: Role of the Sex Factor and Personality’s Characteristics, Abstract Thes. Doct. Biol. Deg., Novosibirsk (2003).
S. Dehaence, A. Dehaence, N. Tzourio, et al., “Cerebral activations during number multiplication and comparison: a PET study,” Neuropsychology, 34, No. 11, 1097–1116 (1996).
M. D. Dietrich, “The cognitive neuroscience of creativity,” Psychonom. Bull. Rev., No. 6, 1011–1026 (2004).
N. Ye. Sviderskaya, A. G. Antonov, and L. S. Butneva “Comperative analysis of the spatial EEG organization on models of divergent and convergent nonverbal thinking,” Zh. Vyssh. Nerv. Deyat., 57, No. 2, 144–154 (2007).
K. M. Heilman, S. E. Nadeau, and D. O. Beversdorf, “Creative innovation: possible brain mechanisms,” Neurocase, 9, No. 5, 369–379 (2003).
N. V. Volf and O. M. Razumnikova, “Sex differences in EEG coherence during a verbal memory task in normal adults,” Int. J. Psychophysiol. 34, No. 2, 113–122 (1999).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kotsan, I.Y., Kozachuk, N.O., Kuznetsov, I.P. et al. Indices of Coherence of EEG Rhythms in the Course of Cognitive Activity as Markers of Creative Thinking: Gender Specificity. Neurophysiology 48, 277–286 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-016-9600-z
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-016-9600-z