Chain free association, creativity, and the default mode network
Tali R. Marron, Yulia Lerner, Ety Berant, Sivan Kinreich, Irit Shapira-Lichter, Talma Hendler, Miriam Faust
Neuropsychologia March 17, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.03.018 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Behavioral and neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Citations | 128 |
| Key points | Chain free association tasks engage spontaneous associative thinking linked to the default mode network, and behavioral measures from these tasks correlate with creative performance but not intelligence. |
Abstract
Research on creativity shows that creative thinking entails both executive (controlled) and associative (spontaneous) processes. Yet standard creativity tasks cannot reliably isolate these two types of cognitive processes, making it difficult to understand the relation between the two and the roles of their corresponding brain networks in creative cognition. In this study we used a behavioral and neuroimaging approach in an effort to establish chain free association (FA) tasks as a relevant method for directly investigating spontaneous associative thinking and its role in creative cognition. We further examined the relation between performance on such tasks and intelligence. Participants completed common creativity tasks and then underwent fMRI scanning while producing FA chains. Instructions to participants that emphasized the spontaneous nature of the task, coupled with proper control conditions that were balanced for difficulty, enabled us to uncover spontaneous (as opposed to controlled) processes. To examine whether behavioral measures that can be derived from FA chains (associative fluency, associative flexibility and semantic remoteness between associations) are indicative of unconstrained spontaneous associative processing and are related to different aspects of verbal creativity and intelligence, scores on these measures were correlated with scores on creativity tasks and on an intelligence task, and with brain activity. We found that: (1) the Default Mode Network (DMN), a network involved in self-generated and internally-directed thought, was more involved in chain FA than in other tasks expected to reflect more controlled forms of internally-directed thought, suggesting that the DMN involvement might be related to the unconstrained spontaneous nature of chain FA. Higher involvement of the left IFG, SFG, MFG under chain FA was also revealed; (2) higher scores on different behavioral measures from FA chains were related to higher activation of the DMN and to reduced activation of the left IFG, a major node in the executive function network; (3) behavioral measures from FA chains were correlated with different aspects of creative performance but not with intelligence. Taken together, these findings lend support to the hypothesis that chain FA involves associative spontaneous thinking. They further suggest that behavioral measures derived from chain FA could indicate patterns of unconstrained associative thinking, related to reduced cognitive control, that are relevant for creative ideation, and might be able to serve as a measure of these patterns.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis | |
| Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2009 | Experimental study using fMRI | |
| Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants | 2013 | Experimental study | |
| The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers | 2012 | Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Low-dose LSD and the stream of thought: Increased Discontinuity of Mind, Deep Thoughts and abstract flow. Psychopharmacology June 1, 2022
- Altered State of Consciousness and Mental Imagery as a Function of N, N-dimethyltryptamine Concentration in Ritualistic Ayahuasca Users Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 2023
- San trance dance: embodied experience and neurological mechanisms Religion, Brain & Behavior October 24, 2022
- Mind wandering during creative incubation predicts increases in creative performance in a writing task. Scientific Reports July 9, 2025
- From default to creativity: prefrontal and cerebellar contributions of the default mode network to goal-directed remote thinking bioRxiv March 17, 2026
and 5 more in the library
Cites 7
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- The wandering brain: Meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of mind-wandering and related spontaneous thought processes Neuroimage February 25, 2015
- Investigating the Functional Heterogeneity of the Default Mode Network Using Coordinate-Based Meta-Analytic Modeling Journal of Neuroscience November 18, 2009
and 2 more in the library