The Relationship Between Dynamic Semantic Processing Features And Creativity And Its Neural Mechanisms

Technological development and social progress are advancing rapidly,and creativity plays an important role in driving this process.Creativity is widely regarded as the ability to generate novel and valuable products or ideas.With the increasing maturity of tools such as computer science and neural imaging,multimodal research methods have become possible,allowing researchers to explore the process of generating and evolving creative ideas more deeply.Recent empirical studies have shown that the generation of creative thinking is closely related to the semantic processing.Existing research has explored the role of semantic networks as the raw material for semantic processing from the perspective of individual differences in the creative ideas production.Based on this,researchers have gradually focused on the dynamic process of cognitive operations based on semantic networks.However,due to limitations in measurement methods,it is difficult to capture the dynamic process of semantic processing,and subjective evaluation methods are not suitable for large-scale testing.Therefore,the rich dynamic descriptions of semantic processing through objective quantitative methods has an inspiring effect on decoding creativity and related cognitive processes.Currently,the methods of quantitatively describing semantic processing ability by combining natural language processing has been widely used by researchers and has been validated in the field of creativity.However,existing research generally uses a single index to describe the process of semantic processing,which is limited in its dynamic quantification,and there is a lack of direct evidence for the brain’s functional basis for creativity-related semantic processing patterns.Based on these issues,this study attempts to combine behavioral research with brain imaging techniques to explore the relationship between objectively quantified dynamic semantic processing characteristics and creativity,and to explore their cognitive neural basis.Study 1 investigates the relationship between semantic processing and creativity through behavioral research using natural language processing based on large-scale corpora.Previous research has shown that the Chained Free Association Task(CFA)can capture the process information of semantic concept processing well.Through manual scoring and computation of semantic distance,researchers can predict creativity.Based on this,this study uses more comprehensive quantitative indicators to deconstruct the dynamic evolution of individual semantic processing and explore its relationship with creativity.Specifically,Research 1 first collects semantic association data from 282 participants using the CFA,and uses word2 vec to generate word vectors based on Chinese corpora.Community detection algorithms are used for clustering,and the number of categories,switching times,nearest semantic distance,global semantic distance,and complexity index produced by each participant are calculated.Secondly,a set of classic tools for measuring creativity and related abilities(such as the Alternative Use Task(AUT),the Inventory of Creative Activities(CAct),the Big Five Personality Test,and intelligence tests)are used to comprehensively evaluate participants’ creativity levels,and univariate and multivariate analyses are used to test the relationship between semantic processing indicators and creativity.Finally,the differences in semantic processing patterns between high and low creativity groups are compared to explore the relationship between different dynamic processing features and creativity levels.The results show that semantic processing indicators are significantly positively correlated with multiple creativity scores,and that there are differences between high and low creativity groups in terms of category number,global semantic distance,and complexity index,indicating that using objectively quantified semantic processing indicators is an effective way to measure creativity and that high creativity individuals tend to adopt more flexible processing patterns.Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(f MRI)in the resting state,study 2investigated the trait brain dynamic features related to flexible semantic processing patterns and their relationship with creativity.Previous research has shown that spontaneously generated ideas during rest rely largely on semantic retrieval and processing,possibly based on the associations between semantic concepts,which can stimulate imagination and inspiration,leading to better performance in creative tasks.To verify this hypothesis,this study first used a Hidden Markov Model(HMM)to decode resting-state f MRI data,obtaining independent brain states.The results showed that brain states associated with semantic processing flexibility mainly involved active salience network,temporo-parietal junction,and executive control network,as well as strong functional connectivity patterns within and between default mode network,executive control network,and salience network.The longer an individual was in this state,the higher their semantic processing flexibility.Next,a mediation model was established,with the survival time of brain states as the independent variable,semantic processing flexibility scores as the mediator variable,and creativity(CAct)as the dependent variable,with gender and age as control variables.The results showed that semantic processing flexibility mediated the relationship between brain dynamics and creativity,indicating that there may be a brain state corresponding to the ability to flexibly adjust attentional focus and switch between controlled and divergent thinking modes during spontaneous thinking,supporting flexible semantic processing performance and promoting the generation of creative ideas.Study 3 used task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging(f MRI)to further explore the brain activity characteristics related to flexible semantic processing during semantic association processes,as well as their association with creativity.Specifically,38 participants were scanned during a chained free association task in two experimental rounds,where they had to verbally report their chain of freely associated words for 10 given prompts.After transcribing the collected speech data into text,the same method as in Study 1 was used to quantify the flexibility of semantic processing and correlate it with creativity.Next,using hidden Markov models(HMM)to decode the task-related brain states,the study replicated the neural mechanisms from Study 2.Furthermore,the study investigated the brain state characteristics related to flexible semantic processing and examined their association with creativity.A regression model was established,with the brain state characteristics related to semantic processing flexibility as the independent variable,creativity(CAct)as the dependent variable,and gender and age as control variables,to explore the neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between dynamic semantic processing patterns and creativity.The results validated the experimental findings of Study 1 at the behavioral level,demonstrating that the objectively quantified flexibility of semantic processing was associated with creativity.At the neural level,the study obtained results consistent with those of Study 2,validating the mediating role of semantic processing flexibility in the relationship between dynamic brain states during resting and creativity.Additionally,the study discovered that during the actual semantic association process,flexible processing corresponded to a specific brain state involving active executive control and dorsal attention networks,especially strong functional connectivity patterns within and between the executive control network,default mode network,and salience network.The results of the regression model indicated that the duration of staying in this state during the CFA using concrete cue word could predict individual creativity.The study provided neural evidence for the association between flexible semantic processing and creativity,possibly due to top-down cognitive control processes.In summary,this study used an objective quantitative approach,combined with behavioral research and neuroimaging methods,to explore the dynamic semantic processing mode and its neural mechanisms in relation to creativity.The results show that:(1)By using a quantification method based on natural language processing,the dynamic semantic processing process related to creativity can be well characterized,and highly creative individuals tend to adopt more flexible processing modes.(2)There are specific brain states associated with flexible semantic processing during rest,which can be associated with creativity by influencing an individual’s semantic processing flexibility.This suggests that spontaneous brain activity in daily life may provide a basis for flexible cognitive processing,which in turn affects an individual’s creative performance.(3)During semantic association processes,the brain’s dynamic features corresponding to flexible processing modes can predict an individual’s creativity.This brain state involves the interaction between the executive control network,the default mode network,and the salience network.These findings suggest that flexible semantic processing is associated with creativity and may benefit from shared cognitive processes,particularly executive control abilities.