Chain free association, creativity, and the default mode network
Neuropsychologia March 17, 2018 Tali R. Marron, Yulia Lerner, Ety Berant et al. 128 citations
Chain free association tasks, in which participants produce a series of related words, can isolate spontaneous associative thinking during creativity. Using fMRI, the default mode network—a brain system linked to internally directed thought—was more active during chain free association than during tasks requiring more controlled thinking, while the left inferior frontal gyrus, part of the executive control network, showed reduced activation. Higher scores on associative fluency, flexibility, and semantic remoteness from the chain free association task correlated with greater default mode network activity and lower left inferior frontal gyrus activity, as well as with better creative performance, but not with intelligence. This suggests chain free association measures may capture unconstrained associative thinking relevant to creativity.