The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the immature neural circuitry of the adolescent brain is an advantage when it comes to creative cognition.
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Other condition
Synonym
Health condition
geen
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
Age-related changes in functional brain activation, functional connectivity,
grey matter maturation, and their relatedness to creative thinking performance.
Secondary outcome
nvt
Background summary
The adolescent brain is still maturing. White matter myelinization, grey matter
pruning, and neural networks specialization have not reached adult levels yet.
These changes in brain structure are accompanied by important changes in brain
function, with slowly maturing cognitive control functions. Cognitive control
is thought to be important for structured planning, goal maintenance, and the
ability to keep irrelevant information out of mind. However, one of the
consequences of immature cognitive control is the ability to think creatively,
and to come up with unpredicted solutions. It has been suggested that
adolescence is a period in life associated with important advancements in
reasoning, but also flexibility in the ability to think creatively. The goal of
the current study is to test this hypothesis, by measuring functional brain
activation during creative problem solving tasks, with the goal of
investigating whether slow brain maturation in adolescents brings them in
advantage when it comes to creative problem solving.
Study objective
The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the immature neural
circuitry of the adolescent brain is an advantage when it comes to creative
cognition.
Study design
This is a between-subjects design (adolescents versus adults) with
within-subject comparisons (creative versus common problem solving).
Study burden and risks
There are no risks associated with behavioural testing. There is an occasional
possibility of some frustration with poor performance or fatigue, testing will
stop if a subject displays frustration or appears tired. There are no known
risks associated with participating in an fMRI study. Subjects with
intracranial or intraocular metal, a pacemaker, possible pregnancy and
claustrophobia will be excluded because of potential contraindications of MRI
in such subjects. The Nederlands Vereniging voor Kindergeneeskunde (NVK) code
of conduct; Gedragscode verzet bij minderjarigen die deelnemen aan
medisch-wetenschappelijk onderzoek will be applied to this study.
Considering the minimal risks involved in this research, the importance of the
benefits gained from this research far outweighs the costs. This study aims to
acquire knowledge about the capability of creative cognition in relation to
maturation of neural circuitry. This knowledge about normal development is
critical to aid in the understanding of cases of abnormal cognitive
development, as seen in children with ADHD or early onset schizophrenia. The
results will also be of great importance to educational service. Knowledge
about the capabilities of the adolescents* brain systems concerning creative
cognition enables to design education that makes optimal use of the
adolescents* potentials.
Wassenaarseweg 52
2333 AK Leiden
NL
Wassenaarseweg 52
2333 AK Leiden
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
Participants between 12 and 35 with no history of neurologocal disorder/disease and no counterindications to MRI will be included in this study. All particpants will be right-handed native Dutch speakers with normal or corrected to normal vision.
Exclusion criteria
Potential participants will be prescreened for contraindications for MRI, which include metal implants, a pacemaker, claustrophobia, and possible pregnancy. They will additionally be prescreened for head trauma, premature birth, learning disabilities, and history of neurological or psychiatric illness and/or use of psychotropic medications. Because of the difficulties in interpreting cognitive studies in subjects with Dutch as a second language, only native-Dutch speakers will be asked to participate in the study. Finally, left-handed individuals will be excluded from the study because some left-handers have substantially different brain organization relative to right-handers.
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL30003.058.09 |