Title: Cognitive%20and%20neural%20mechanisms%20of%20insightful%20solutions
1Cognitive and neural mechanisms of insightful
solutions
- Mark Jung-Beeman, Northwestern University
- In collaboration with
- John Kounios, Ed Bowden, Karuna Subramaniam, Ezra
Wegbreit - Thanks to
- Todd Parrish, Paul Reber, Jason Haberman, Zoe
Clancy, Jennifer Frymaire, and many others.
2Left Hemisphere Relatively fine semantic
coding Good for strong activation, rapid
selection, categorization Might miss distant
associations
Right Hemisphere Relatively coarse semantic
coding Weak, diffuse activation, not easily
accessible (unconscious?) Better able to detect
semantic overlap from distant associations
3Insight as creative problem solving
- Generally considered a type of creative thought
- Requires cognitive flexibility (restructuring)
- Divergent thinking (plus convergent)
- Correlated with other creative processes
- distinct marker instance of creative thinking
4Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight
- Objective measure of subjective experience
- Covert measure / Access to unconscious processing
- Brain structures, type of activity can inform
theories of cognitive processing
5Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight
- Objective measure of subjective experience
- Covert measure / Access to unconscious processing
- Brain structures, type of activity can inform
theories of cognitive processing - Methodological Constraints
- Need many trials for adequate signal noise
- Need proper control condition
6Short insight-like problems, based on the
Remote Associates Test RAT (Mednick, 1962)
RAT Compound Remote Associate Problems
Bowden Jung Beeman, 1998
child
tennis
scan
bird
strike
same
7Short insight-like problems, based on the
Remote Associates Test RAT (Mednick, 1962)
RAT Compound Remote Associate Problems
Bowden Jung Beeman, 1998
child
tennis
scan
BRAIN
bird
MATCH
strike
same
8RAT CRAP More flexibility
Less Unknown type of association Compound
Harder Easier Solve more
analytic possible (still
insightgtanalytic)
9Unconscious processing?Behavioral methods
testing solution activation
- Primary task try to solve problems
- After time limit (or after solving), target word
appears - Solution or unrelated word (priming?)
- lvf-RH or rvf-LH
10Right visual field
Left visual field
Left Hemisphere
Right Hemisphere
11time box free
12 lunch
13lunch time lunch box free lunch
14Conclusions from behavioral studies of
insight-like problem solving
- Solution priming for unsolved problems
- Unconscious solution activation prior to
solving - Especially in RH (lvf)
- RH solution activation useful for recognizing
solutions - Faster solution decisions for lvf-RH than rvf-LH!
- More priming, faster recognition with insight gt
analytic - Especially in RH (lvf)
15What happens during solving?
- Our behavioral methods require presenting
solution - FMRI or EEG allow covert measure during solving
- Neural correlates of insight
- Really sudden?
16Neural correlates during solving?
- Area of activation helps constrain cognitive
theories - Is insight really different?
- How?
- Semantic/lexical integration - making new
connections RH anterior temporal lobe - Cognitive control, switching ACC? DLPFC?
17Cognitive Neuroscience of InsightMethodological
Constraints
- Controlling for difficulty AND general
strategies, cognitive processes - Analytic solving - high WM demand
- Different processes, nothing to do with
insight
18Event-related neuroimaging design(solution-locked
potentials)
- Insight solutions versus noninsight solutions
- Very tight comparison
- Not reveal whole network of problem solving
- Highlights just components that are uniquely
engaged (emphasized) for insight solutions
19Tooth Heart Potato
Preparation period
Solution?
Problem onset
Analytic or Insight?
Variable solving time
2-8s
0-30s
2s
2s
20Eureka! or Aha! experience
- Solution appears sudden and obvious
- As soon as you think of solution, you just know
it works for all three words - Comes as a whole, not part by part
- (vs strategic, step-by-step testing, etc)
21Tooth Heart Potato
Preparation period
Solution?
Problem onset
Analytic or Insight?
Variable solving time
2-8s
0-30s
2s
2s
22(No Transcript)
23Replication from converging methods
- Electroencephalography (EEG)
- Parallel simultaneous experiment, different
subs - Better temporal resolution
- Type of activity informative
24Gamma band insight effects
25Replication from converging methods
26Replication from converging methods
27Replication with fMRI
- more subs
- better scanning
- better design to separate sequential processes
- shorter solving time (15s)
28Neural correlates of insight solutions
R
L
-
- Right middle/superior temporal lobe
- lexical / semantic integration of distant
relations - making new connections -
- Also Hippocampus/ parahippocampal gyrus
- distinct memory retrieval
-
-
- Posterior cingulate cortex
- visual attention
-
29 Neural correlates of insight solutions
R
L
- Dorsal anterior cingulate/ medial frontal
gyrus(BA 24, 32, 9) - Cognitive control
-
- Detecting competing activations (solution
candidates), i.e., something to switch attention
to
30What factors influence ability to achieve insight
solutions?
- Fluctuations in attention (Kounios)
- Individual differences (Kounios)
31What factors influence ability to achieve insight
solutions?
- Fluctuations in attention (Kounios)
- Individual differences, resting state (Kounios)
- Mood (affect) - assessed or induced
- Attention state - assessed or induced
32Positive Affect facilitates insight
-
- Solving RAT probs, medical diagnoses, other
(Isen, many papers) - Solving RAT problems global attention
(Anderson et al., 2006) - Work place diaries (Amabile, 2005)
- How?
- Specifically facilitate insight solving?
- Facilitate use of analytic strategy on insight
problems? - Activate right hemisphere?
- Modulate cognitive control, interacting w/ other
processes
33Positive affect modulates attention
- Biases a global or broader focus of attention? 1
- Facilitates integrating distant elements of
problems? 2 - Facilitates switching between solving strategies,
3 - or between global and local attention?
- Facilitates detecting competing solution
candidates? 4 - 1 Gasper et al, 2002, Anderson et al. 2006
- 2 Fedemeier et al, 2001
- 3 Dreisbach et al, 2004
- 4 Baumann Kuhl., 2005
34 Behavioral Results - I
p lt .05
35 Behavioral Results - I
p lt .05
36Behavioral Summary
- Subjects higher in positive mood
- solve more (insight-like) problems overall
- solve more with insight
- Subjects higher in anxiety
- solve fewer problems with insight
37Neuroimaging Evidence
- Does positive affect alter approach to problem
- (vs reaction to it?)
- Multiple analyses examining relation between
positive mood, insight solving, insight
preparation, and overall preparation in brain
activity -
- Anatomical overlap across all analyses?
38Tooth Heart Potato
Preparation Period
Solution?
Problem onset
Analytical or Insight?
Variable solving time
2-8s
0-15s
2s
2s
39Analysis I Signal increased during prep in
ACC, PCC (some) ONLY prep activity in ACC
increased with positive affect across all 27
subs
Preparatory activity in ACC (t 4.5, v 2940
mm)
40Neuroimaging Summary Convergent Analysis Only
ACC region showed functional overlap (black)
with positive affect states (red) active
preparatory region (blue) insight
solution-related effect (yellow)
ACC (i) (preparatory
activity) (insight effect)
(ii)
(preparatory activity)
(positive affect) (iii)
(preparatory activity)
(positive affect) (insight
effect)
41Conclusions from assessing Affect
- Positive affect alters preparatory activity in
the ACC to predispose solving with insight by - (i) enhancing detection of competing
alternatives? - (ii) enhancing predisposition to switch b/w
strategies? -
- (iii) enhancing selection?
42Inducing pos affect anxiety, w/in subs
p lt .05
43Attention and insight
- ACC part of attention cognitive control
- Distractibility and insight, creativity
- Less latent inhibition - ability to suppress
- Global attention, global processing
- Pos mood -gt incd insight incd attentional
breadth
44Attention and insight
- Attention battery 20 tasks, 4 correlated
- Rapid Identification - more solved, more
insight - Central focus - less insight
- Global motion - more solved
- Multiple object (ball) tracking
45Inducing attention for insight
- Set 1 CRA problems
- all 4 attention tasks,
- - Central Focus --gt Rapid ID (less to more
insight) - Set 2 CRA problmes
- Correlations?
- Changes in performance
46Inducing attention for insight
- Set 1 CRA problems
- 1 attention tasks X 4 groups
- - Central Focus
- - Rapid ID
- - Ball tracking
- - Global motion
- Set 2 CRA problems
- Changes in performance?
47Inducing attention for insight
- Changes in performance?
- Central Focus
- - solving, analytic, insight
- Rapid ID
- - solving, analytic, insight
- Ball tracking Global motion - ns diffs
48Conclusions
- Insight emphasizes different cognitive and neural
components than does analytic processing - Right aSTG - integrate distant elements
- ACC readiness to detect/switch to competing
candidates - overall more top-down approach disengage from
input - Mood and attentional states modulate component
processes conducive to insight - Pos affect enhances, anxiety impedes
- ACC, readiness to detect competing candidates
- - which are more likely to be (weakly) active
in RH -
49Conclusions
- Insight emphasizes different cognitive and neural
components than does analytic processing - Right aSTG - integrate distant elements
- ACC readiness to detect/switch to competing
candidates - overall more top-down approach disengage from
input - Mood and attentional states modulate component
processes conducive to insight - Pos affect enhances, anxiety impedes
- ACC, readiness to detect competing candidates
- - which are more likely to be (weakly) active
in RH - Neural evidence can be used to constrain and
expand theories of insight creative cognition
50(No Transcript)
51General vs specific mechanisms - Visual Aha!
52Visual Aha! effect in RH anterior Mid Temporal
Gyrus FMRI signal for insight gt noninsight
recognition
L R
Post Ant L R
L coronal R
axial sagittal p lt .01, cluster gt 500 mm3
53Visual Aha! effect in RH Angular Gyrus FMRI
signal for insight gt noninsight recognition
L R
Post Ant L R
L coronal R
axial sagittal p lt .01, cluster gt 500
mm3 Also RH Sup Frontal Gyrus
54Visual Aha! effect in Bilateral M. Occipital
Gyri FMRI signal for NONinsight gt insight
recognition
L R
Post Ant L R
L coronal R
axial sagittal p lt .005, cluster gt 500 mm3
55Visual Aha! conclusions
- NOT just for verbal problems
- Similarities - shared mechanisms (not insight,
but) - Insight top-down, cognitive control, integration
- RH unconscious, weak but mutually constraining,
integration - Recognition comes as a whole, not part by part
- Noninsight bottom-up (vis cortex)
56General vs specific mechanisms - Visual Aha!
57General vs specific mechanisms - Visual Aha!
58Visual Aha! conclusions
- Some differences -
- Angular Gyrus somewhat surprising
- Non-canonical object recognition (Kosslyn et al)
- Simultaneous object (part) recognition?
- Simulagnosia