TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)
Investigating the role of specific brain regions and functional brain networks in creative thinking and related cognitive processes using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Guiding Questions
What is the effect of using TMS on networks that underlie creative thinking on behavioral metrics of creativity?
What is the impact of altering site selection and stimulation type?
How does TMS effect the connectivity within and between different brain networks? Do these changes in connectivity predict changes in behavior?
How are we studying this?
We deliver TMS to different brain networks and use MRI to determine how the stimulation has altered activity of those networks. We conduct creativity tasks after participants receive TMS to determine how the changes in neural activity may enhance cognitive performance. One area of focus is the use of a dual stimulation design in which TMS is first applied to one node in the neural network, followed by stimulation to a second area. Possible stimulation sites include the angular gyrus (AG), which is part of the default-mode network (DMN) and is seen as an important hub related to the generation of semantic associations. The DMN has been shown to work in concert with the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) during creative cognition. A second potential stimulation site is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which is a central region linked to the FPCN.