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Voxel‐based morphometry in creative writers: Grey matter increase in a prefronto‐thalamic‐cerebellar network
Author(s) -
Neumann Nicola,
Domin Martin,
Erhard Katharina,
Lotze Martin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/ejn.13952
Subject(s) - grey matter , voxel based morphometry , psychology , voxel , cerebellum , neuroscience , brain mapping , middle frontal gyrus , thalamus , broca's area , cognitive psychology , white matter , cognition , magnetic resonance imaging , medicine , artificial intelligence , computer science , radiology
Abstract Continuous practice modulates those features of brain anatomy specifically associated with requirements of the respective training task. This study aimed to highlight brain structural changes going along with long‐term experience in creative writing. To this end, we investigated the grey matter volume of 23 expert writers with voxel‐based morphometry and compared it to 28 matched nonexpert controls. Expert writers had higher grey matter volume in the right superior frontal and middle frontal gyri ( BA 9,10) as well as left middle frontal gyrus ( BA 9, 10, 46), the bilateral medial dorsal nuclei of the thalamus and left posterior cerebellum. A regression analysis confirmed the association of enhanced grey matter volume in the right superior frontal gyrus ( BA 10) with practice index of writing. In region‐of‐interest based regression analyses, we found associations of grey matter volume in the right Broca’s analogue ( BA 44) and right primary visual cortex ( BA 17) with creativity ratings of the texts written during scanning, but not with a standardised verbal creativity test. Creative writing thus seems to be strongly connected to a prefronto‐thalamic‐cerebellar network that supports the continuous generation, organisation and revision of ideas that is necessary to write literary texts.