Insight problem solving is characterized by mental impasses,states of mind in which the problem solver does not know what to do next.Although many studies have investigated the neural correlates of insight problem sol...Insight problem solving is characterized by mental impasses,states of mind in which the problem solver does not know what to do next.Although many studies have investigated the neural correlates of insight problem solving,however,the question when mental impasses occur during insight problem solving has been rarely studied.The present study adopted high temporal resolution ERPs to investigate the temporal dynamics of an impasse underlying insight problem solving.Time locked ERPs were recorded associated with problems with impasses(PWI) and problems without impasses(POI).The problem types were determined by participants' subjective responses.The results revealed an early frontocentral P2 was linked with the preconscious awareness of mental impasses and a P3a was associated with fixed attention when the impasse formed.These findings suggest the impasse may occur initially at a relatively early stage and metacognition plays an important role in insight problem solving.展开更多
The relationship between language and thinking has long been a matter of debate and a research focus in studies on thinking and problem solving,including creativity.Previous behavioral studies have found that verbaliz...The relationship between language and thinking has long been a matter of debate and a research focus in studies on thinking and problem solving,including creativity.Previous behavioral studies have found that verbalization of one’s internal thoughts does not participate in or even interfere with the creative insight process,thus suggesting that insight may take place nonverbally.In contrast to this hypothesis,the present study proposes a new one.That is,given that the basic categories or fundamental functions of key concepts or objects are critically changed or expanded during insightful thinking,the linguistic processing accompanying insight can be reflected as category-related representation and recategorization processes,which can be critically mediated by the posterior middle temporal gyrus and the angular gyrus(pMTG/AG).Using constraint-relaxation insight riddles as materials in a guided-insight experimental design with external hints to trigger the insightful representational change,this preliminary neuroimaging study of 11 participants found the involvement of pMTG/AG during moments of induced insight,but did not find the activation of left ventral frontal areas which are typically involved in verbalizing of one’s internal thoughts.Although this observation still cannot exclude the possibility of internal verbalization in insightful restructuring,it implies that linguistic processing in insight may take the more fundamental form of category-related processing.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB833904)Research Innovation Program for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province (CXLX12_0353, CXLX12_0351)the Fourth High-level Personnel Training Project in Jiangsu Province
文摘Insight problem solving is characterized by mental impasses,states of mind in which the problem solver does not know what to do next.Although many studies have investigated the neural correlates of insight problem solving,however,the question when mental impasses occur during insight problem solving has been rarely studied.The present study adopted high temporal resolution ERPs to investigate the temporal dynamics of an impasse underlying insight problem solving.Time locked ERPs were recorded associated with problems with impasses(PWI) and problems without impasses(POI).The problem types were determined by participants' subjective responses.The results revealed an early frontocentral P2 was linked with the preconscious awareness of mental impasses and a P3a was associated with fixed attention when the impasse formed.These findings suggest the impasse may occur initially at a relatively early stage and metacognition plays an important role in insight problem solving.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant 31871093,31671124,JSPS KAKENHI Grant JP18H05318Capacity Building for Sci-Tech Innovation-Fundamental Scientific Research Funds Grant 025-185305000.
文摘The relationship between language and thinking has long been a matter of debate and a research focus in studies on thinking and problem solving,including creativity.Previous behavioral studies have found that verbalization of one’s internal thoughts does not participate in or even interfere with the creative insight process,thus suggesting that insight may take place nonverbally.In contrast to this hypothesis,the present study proposes a new one.That is,given that the basic categories or fundamental functions of key concepts or objects are critically changed or expanded during insightful thinking,the linguistic processing accompanying insight can be reflected as category-related representation and recategorization processes,which can be critically mediated by the posterior middle temporal gyrus and the angular gyrus(pMTG/AG).Using constraint-relaxation insight riddles as materials in a guided-insight experimental design with external hints to trigger the insightful representational change,this preliminary neuroimaging study of 11 participants found the involvement of pMTG/AG during moments of induced insight,but did not find the activation of left ventral frontal areas which are typically involved in verbalizing of one’s internal thoughts.Although this observation still cannot exclude the possibility of internal verbalization in insightful restructuring,it implies that linguistic processing in insight may take the more fundamental form of category-related processing.
