Neurophysiology of creativity in conditions of competitive social interaction: data of EEG hyperscanning study

Abstract

Brain activity changes significantly across various social interaction conditions. However, the impact of social interaction context on neurophysiological correlates of cognitive and creative activity per se remains insufficiently explored [1]. Two distinct types of interactions can be identified when it comes to resolving tasks: cooperation or competition. The aim of this study was to evaluate how competition conditions affect the amplitudes of event-related potentials (ERP) when solving creative and non-creative problems. Subjects (26 men and 18 women) performed two types of tasks both individually and in pairs of the same gender. The tasks consisted of creative and non-creative activities. In the creative tasks, participants were asked to describe unusual uses of everyday objects, such as a brick, newspaper, or paper clip. In the non-creative tasks, participants were requested to list items from various proposed categories, such as transport, furniture, or sports. A total of over one hundred samples of each type were provided for both individual and joint performance. The order of task performance, whether individual or joint, was randomized between pairs of participants. When tasks were performed in pairs, the first responding participant’s answer created competitive conditions and was considered the first response. During the tasks, we recorded EEG/ERP data synchronously using a Mitsar-202 electroencephalograph (LLC Mitsar, St. Petersburg) and the WinEEG software package (Ponomarev V.A., Kropotov Yu.D., No. State Registration 2001610516 dated 08.05.2001). The recording was monopolar from 15 leads with a referent — combined ear electrode. We modified the 10/20 system with a sampling rate of 500 Hz, and a recording band of 0.53–150 Hz. We analyzed the data using a band of 1.6–30 Hz and a 50 Hz cutoff filter. ERPs for each task (creative or non-creative) were compared between the competition and individual performance conditions by conducting a repeated-measures ANOVA for the STATE factor (individual performance/competition conditions) and STATExZONE factor interaction (15 EEG leads) in the selected time intervals showing differences. Competition conditions resulted in decreased amplitudes of both sensory components, P1 and P2, and semantic components with N400 and P600 latency in both creative and non-creative activities. This suggests the presence of difficulty in finding an answer. The proportion of correct responses was significantly lower in the competitive conditions than during individual task performance. The median correct response rate was 45% (31–55) compared to 56% (49–74) in the creative task, and 87% (82–93) compared to 66% (60–76) in the non-creative task, during competition and individual performance, respectively. Probably, a significant portion of the resources used when performing the task in social interaction conditions were aimed at evaluating the partner’s reactions and responses. This assessment was reflected in the reduction of earlier components associated with attention (P1, P2) as well as later components associated with semantic processing of stimuli (N400, P600). The conditions of the competition had a more noticeable impact on the ERP in the creative task as compared to the non-creative task.