Subcortical Structures and Creative Divergent Thinking: A Resting-State functional MRI Analysis

Subcortical Structures and Creative Divergent Thinking: A Resting-State functional MRI Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Subcortical Structures and Creative Divergent Thinking: A Resting-State functional MRI Analysis Zhenni Gao, Xiaojin Liu, Delong Zhang, Ming Liu, Ning Hao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-346412/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Aug, 2021 Read the published version in Brain Structure and Function → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study aimed to testify whether spontaneous fluctuations in the subcortex contribute to creative divergent thinking. Individuals at high- and low levels of creativity were recruited and the resting-state fMRI data was collected. Seed-wise and dynamic functional connectivity (FC) were used to identify differences between the two groups. The topological properties of the subcortical network were measured, and their relationship with performance of creative divergent thinking was calculated using brain-behaviour correlation analyses. The results revealed higher FC between the putamen, pallidum, and thalamus in high creativity group (HCG) compared to low creativity group (LCG) within the subcortex. Whole-brain FC results showed stronger connection across subcortical (i.e., the thalamus and pallidum) and cerebral regions (i.e., the insula, middle frontal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus) in HCG compared to LCG. In addition, the subcortical FC demonstrated a positive correlation with performance of creative thinking across the pallidum, putamen, and thalamus. Our findings may provide novel insights into the relationship between creative divergent thinking and the activities of the subcortex. It is likely that not only fronto-striatal dopaminergic pathways, but also “motor” pathways, are involved in creative thinking processing. Neurology creative thinking subcortex functional connectivity resting-state fMRI Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Full Text Supplementary Files SM.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Aug, 2021 Read the published version in Brain Structure and Function → Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 09 May, 2021 Editor invited by journal 22 Mar, 2021 First submitted to journal 18 Mar, 2021 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-346412","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":26014534,"identity":"1ad854d9-e907-4d2e-8f3d-0635f23ecb96","order_by":0,"name":"Zhenni Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"East China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhenni","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":26014535,"identity":"9df14337-c6ca-4a3d-94e0-83fea5cd1b40","order_by":1,"name":"Xiaojin Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heinrich-Heine-Universitat Dusseldorf","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaojin","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":26014536,"identity":"6b2943d5-783f-4997-be53-706d33fbbf75","order_by":2,"name":"Delong Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"South China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Delong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":26014537,"identity":"d2f6ae34-b056-4410-ad24-498d4bac4406","order_by":3,"name":"Ming Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"South China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ming","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":26014538,"identity":"3812793d-afe1-4fb1-b312-609b69e1492c","order_by":4,"name":"Ning Hao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSD+gMRnbCBGC+MMkrUw85CkxVy6+eFj2x11iQ3szc8e8zDYyG44wPzsAT4tlnOOGRvnnjmc2MBzzNyYhyHNeMMBNnMDfFoMbiSYSee2HUhskMhhk+ZhOJy44QAPmwR+LenfpC3bgA6TfwPS8p8YLTlm0oxtzEBbeEBaDhClpdiw98xh4zaeNDPJOQbJxjMPs5kRctjGBz931Mn2sx9+JvGmwk6273jzM7xawAAYF45tEBOAmJmgeogWe2LUjYJRMApGwQgFABMXRNlwsVkzAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"East China Normal University","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ning","middleName":"","lastName":"Hao","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2021-03-19 18:38:53","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-346412/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-346412/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02355-z","type":"published","date":"2021-08-03T15:06:14+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":9056116,"identity":"acd3891c-84e7-40c5-81eb-9759d1fa4be1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-05-11 17:10:33","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":2802316,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Locations of subcortical regions. Each region is labeled with different colors.","description":"","filename":"Figure1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1/85ac656f40623972d09a452d.jpg"},{"id":9055867,"identity":"ae8a254e-3647-41db-804d-a6d7a2ddf986","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-05-11 17:07:33","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":2340126,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Cluster corresponding to the significant difference (p \u003c0.05, Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement correction, TFCE-correction) in the whole-brain map of subcortical region between high creative group (HCG) and low creative group (LCG). Abbreviation: THA, thalamus; PAL, pallidum; L (R), left (right) hemisphere.","description":"","filename":"Figure2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1/a9af6b68e930178a67a050b8.jpg"},{"id":9056115,"identity":"c833cd43-0449-4631-aa54-629ec0c4e67c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-05-11 17:10:33","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":822579,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Significant differences (p \u003c0.05, false discovery rate correction, FDR-correction) in A) function connectivity (FC) and B) averaged dynamic FC (dFC) between high creativity group (HCG) and low creativity group (LCG).","description":"","filename":"Figure3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1/0cbf348a96a5fa2d80506d65.jpg"},{"id":9056118,"identity":"a5e4f12d-2ce7-4e1f-8fdb-e9e31b23026d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-05-11 17:10:33","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":891735,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"A) Global parameters of subcortical network for both high creativity group (HCG) and low creativity group (LCG). B) The variance of global parameters of subcortical network for both HCG and LCG. *p \u003c0.05.","description":"","filename":"Figure4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1/ff7f4f27c92aa053ce1bae57.jpg"},{"id":13630674,"identity":"fe54ffe7-edaf-40a1-a0b4-8dbe3f66a05f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-09-17 08:13:25","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":780264,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"revisedmanuscript20210318.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1_covered.pdf"},{"id":9056120,"identity":"47c49a48-b8f5-4acf-ba4a-27cc4f7db7b3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-05-11 17:10:41","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":809422,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"revisedmanuscript20210318.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1_covered.pdf"},{"id":9056117,"identity":"d287caf9-0f34-43be-845f-69b3208bee4f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-05-11 17:10:33","extension":"docx","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":285311,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SM.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-346412/v1/2803c413220c4e263f6e2fe7.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eSubcortical Structures and Creative Divergent Thinking: A Resting-State functional MRI Analysis\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Full Text","content":"This preprint is available for \u003ca href='/article/rs-346412/latest.pdf' target='_blank'\u003edownload as a PDF\u003c/a\u003e."}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"brain-structure-and-function","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bsaf","sideBox":"Learn more about [Brain Structure and Function](https://www.springer.com/journal/429)","snPcode":"429","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/429/3","title":"Brain Structure and Function","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"creative thinking, subcortex, functional connectivity, resting-state fMRI","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-346412/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-346412/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study aimed to testify whether spontaneous fluctuations in the subcortex contribute to creative divergent thinking. Individuals at high- and low levels of creativity were recruited and the resting-state fMRI data was collected. Seed-wise and dynamic functional connectivity (FC) were used to identify differences between the two groups. The topological properties of the subcortical network were measured, and their relationship with performance of creative divergent thinking was calculated using brain-behaviour correlation analyses. The results revealed higher FC between the putamen, pallidum, and thalamus in high creativity group (HCG) compared to low creativity group (LCG) within the subcortex. Whole-brain FC results showed stronger connection across subcortical (i.e., the thalamus and pallidum) and cerebral regions (i.e., the insula, middle frontal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus) in HCG compared to LCG. In addition, the subcortical FC demonstrated a positive correlation with performance of creative thinking across the pallidum, putamen, and thalamus. Our findings may provide novel insights into the relationship between creative divergent thinking and the activities of the subcortex. It is likely that not only fronto-striatal dopaminergic pathways, but also \u0026ldquo;motor\u0026rdquo; pathways, are involved in creative thinking processing.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Subcortical Structures and Creative Divergent Thinking: A Resting-State functional MRI Analysis","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2021-05-11 17:07:31","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-346412/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2021-05-10T06:55:00+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2021-05-09T08:13:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Brain Structure and Function","date":"2021-03-23T00:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Brain Structure and Function","date":"2021-03-18T20:59:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"brain-structure-and-function","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bsaf","sideBox":"Learn more about [Brain Structure and Function](https://www.springer.com/journal/429)","snPcode":"429","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/429/3","title":"Brain Structure and Function","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"09dba760-c3d6-4591-a900-cdb933a40936","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 11th, 2021","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":4230920,"name":"Neurology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2021-08-22T15:23:33+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-346412","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02355-z","journal":{"identity":"brain-structure-and-function","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Brain Structure and Function"},"publishedOn":"2021-08-03 15:06:14","publishedOnDateReadable":"August 3rd, 2021"},"versionCreatedAt":"2021-05-11 17:07:31","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s00429-021-02355-z","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02355-z","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-346412","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-346412","identity":"rs-346412","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"-HB7Z8yhvgn0wM9Nzuekk","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}