Functional connectivity of the human amygdala in health and in depression

To analyze the functioning of the amygdala in depression, we performed the first voxel-level resting state functional-connectivity neuroimaging analysis of depression of voxels in the amygdala with all other voxels in the brain, with 336 patients with major depressive disorder and 350 controls. Amygdala voxels had decreased functional connectivity with the orbitofrontal cortex, temporal lobe areas, including the temporal pole, inferior temporal gyrus, and the parahippocampal gyrus. The reductions in the strengths of the functional connectivity of the amygdala voxels with the medial orbitofrontal cortex and temporal lobe voxels were correlated with increases in the Beck Depression Inventory score and in the duration of illness measures of depression. Parcellation analysis in 350 healthy controls based on voxel-level functional connectivity showed that the basal division of the amygdala has high functional connectivity with medial orbitofrontal cortex areas, and the dorsolateral amygdala has strong functional connectivity with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and related ventral parts of the inferior frontal gyrus. In depression, the basal amygdala division had especially reduced functional connectivity with the medial orbitofrontal cortex which is involved in reward; and the dorsolateral amygdala subdivision had relatively reduced functional connectivity with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex which is involved in non-reward

Diversity & Creativity

Data and code to reproduce the main analyses and figures in the paper "The brain’s control-default hubs support diverse functional interaction for creative thinking"

Diversity & Creativity

Data and code to reproduce the main analyses and figures in the paper "The brain’s control-default hubs support diverse functional interaction for creative thinking"

Different brain structures associated with artistic and scientific creativity: a voxel-based morphometry study

AbstractCreativity is the ability to produce original and valuable ideas or behaviors. In real life, artistic and scientific creativity promoted the development of human civilization; however, to date, no studies have systematically investigated differences in the brain structures responsible for artistic and scientific creativity in a large sample. Using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), this study identified differences in regional gray matter volume (GMV) across the brain between artistic and scientific creativity (assessed by the Creative Achievement Questionnaire) in 356 young, healthy subjects. The results showed that artistic creativity was significantly negatively associated with the regional GMV of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In contrast, scientific creativity was significantly positively correlated with the regional GMV of the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG). Overall, artistic creativity was associated with the salience network (SN), whereas scientific creativity was associated with the executive attention network and semantic processing. These results may provide an effective marker that can be used to predict and evaluate individuals’ creative performance in the fields of science and art.</jats:p