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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the hemispheric effect of creative insight. This study used high-density ERPs to record participants' brain activity while they performed an insight task. Results showed that both insight solutions and incomprehension solutions elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N320∼550) than noninsight solutions in the time window of 320∼550 msec. Scalp ERPs and topographical maps revealed that the insight N320∼550 exhibited a relative RH dominance, whereas the incomprehension N320∼550 exhibited a relative midline dominance. Dipole source analysis showed that the generator of N320∼550 elicited by insight and incomprehension solutions was localized in the right middle frontal gyrus and the right parahippocampus gyrus, respectively. These distinct spatiotemporal patterns involved in insight processing and incomprehension processing suggest that the observed N320∼550 might reflect the processing of set-shift and the formation of novel associations. Moreover, the spatiotemporal pattern of brain activation associated with insight solutions supported the idea that the right hemispheric dominance theory of creative thinking also applies to creative insight.
Acknowledgments
The work described in this article was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (30200082) and the fourth high-level personnel training project in Jiangsu province.