Researchers at the Queen Mary Universiy of London and the Goldsmiths University of London recently announced that they have found a way to use EEG stimulation to enhance the creativity of human thinking. The research results were published in the recent Scientific Reports.
In the experiment, scientists achieved the expected effect by suppressing the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe (DLPFC), a key part of the frontal lobe brain, in a short period of time. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is primarily involved in brain thinking and reasoning.
According to the article, among all participants, the creativity of participants who received EEG stimulation was significantly enhanced: “They are able to think outside the box.â€
The first author of the paper was Dr. Caroline Di Bernardi Luft from the School of Biology and Chemistry at Queen Mary University, London. He previously worked at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he worked with Dr. Michael Banissy and Professor Joydeep Bhattacharya. Dr. Luft explained: “We are accustomed to using past experience to solve problems, and this process becomes automated, with the dorsolateral prefrontal lobes playing a key role.â€
“Most of the time it is very useful, but when we encounter new problems and need new thinking, it doesn’t work so well – our past experience does hinder innovation. To break the rigid thinking, we have to Untied in past experience."
Therefore, the researchers tried to use a technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This technique requires placement of a salt-soaked electrode on the scalp to deliver a weak, constant current to the electrode to adjust the excitability of the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe. The brain region can be temporarily suppressed or activated depending on the direction of the current. The weak current also ensures that it will not cause harm to the human body or cause adverse reactions.
Sixty participants underwent several experimental interventions: inhibition of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe, and no stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal lobe. Before and after the intervention, the researchers examined the participants' ability to solve creative problems. Participants have to complete the “matchstick problemâ€, some of which are difficult. To answer it, you have to leave out the known arithmetic and algebra rules.
Experiments have shown that participants with temporary suppression of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are better at solving these problems than those who are activated or unstimulated. This shows that the temporary suppression of this brain area can help us break the brain's dependence on past experience and jump out of the framework.
However, the investigators also found that participants with suppressed dorsolateral prefrontal lobes performed poorly on tasks with high working memory load (when the brain needed to remember a lot of content at once). This type of problem requires several different steps to be taken until the answer is found, so participants must track their mental arithmetic process.
Dr. Luft said: "These findings are important because they demonstrate the possibility of enhancing creativity with non-invasive EEG stimulation."
“But our results also show that to apply this technology, we must take into account more details of the target cognitive effects, rather than directly assuming that tDCS can improve cognitive ability, and some companies that sell tDCS to individuals are so advertised. She also said, "I don't think it's time to use the electrode cap to stimulate the brain to raise awareness," Dr. Luft said.
The article is reproduced from Bio Valley and is for reading and communication only.
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