Similarities and differences in the cognitive control roles of inferior frontal gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the creative process: a transcranial direct current stimulation study.

Background: Previous studies have shown that two core subregions of the prefrontal cortex - the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) - are both closely related to cognitive control in creativity; however, the similarities and differences in their cognitive control mechanisms during creativity remain to be further clarified.

Methods: This study employed a within-subject design, using transcranial direct current stimulation to manipulate the activity of left DLPFC and IFG separately. Participants completed divergent and convergent thinking tasks under three conditions: anodal stimulation of the left DLPFC, cathodal stimulation of the left IFG, and sham stimulation. The novelty and appropriateness of generated answers during idea generation, as well as those selected during idea selection, were compared across conditions.

Results: (a) Anodal stimulation of the left DLPFC significantly enhanced the novelty of answers generated during idea generation in both the alternate uses task (AUT) and the product improvement task and helped to select the more appropriate answer during idea selection in AUT. (b) Cathodal stimulation of the left IFG significantly improved the novelty of ideas generated in the AUT but had no significant effect on performance during idea selection.

Conclusion: The cognitive control mechanisms of the left DLPFC and IFG differ during the creative process. Anodal stimulation of the left DLPFC enhances goal-directed cognitive control, thereby promoting creativity, whereas cathodal stimulation of the left IFG facilitates the generation of creative ideas by releasing inhibitory control over semantic retrieval.