Electroencephalographic correlates of the activity of the frontoparietal system as predictors of verbal intelligence and non-verbal creativity

Abstract

Introduction. It is known that the frontoparietal system is involved in both intellectual and creative functions, but no consensus has been achieved on the issue of how these functions and the associated activity of the frontoparietal parts of the brain interplay and reflect each other. The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of neuronal oscillations, which could be predictors of verbal or figurative components of intelligence and/or imaginative creativity.

Methods. The activity of the frontoparietal cortex was analyzed using multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) technique. The study enrolled 37 university students. The EEG baseline power values of 6 frequency bands, from delta to beta2 were analyzed in comparison with the verbal (IQv) and figurative (IQf) components of intelligence assessed using the Amthauer technique and with the imaginative originality when performing the Torrance subtest “Incomplete figures task” (IFT).

Results. When comparing groups with high or low IQv or IFT rates, the following general effects were established: asymmetry in the activity of anterior and posterior-frontal regions in the beta1 frequency band and higher power values of the delta rhythm in frontal regions of the cortex in individuals with higher IQv rate, and in the central-parietal cortex in individuals with higher imaginative originality rates, respectively, along with higher values of the alpha1 rhythm in the central and the alpha2 rhythm in the frontal areas of the cortex. Regression models calculated for IFT and IQv were similar, delta rhythm power values in the frontal leads of the left hemisphere being the main predictor of intellectual and creative abilities.

Discussion. The similarity of the regression models for IFT and IQv with more pronounced differences in frequency and regional representation of the EEG correlates of the imaginative originality should be considered as evidence that intelligence (and the structures associated with it) is a necessary but not sufficient condition for creativity. The detected frequency-spatial relationship between the IFT and IQv may arise from the similar organization of executive control over the imaginative task performance.