Linking functional connectome gradient to individual creativity

Abstract

Introduction: Human brain network is organized as a hierarchical organization, exhibiting various connectome gradients. The principal gradient is anchored by the modality-specific primary areas and the transmodal regions. Previous studies have suggested that the unimodal-transmodal gradient in the functional connectome may offer an overarching framework for high-order cognitions of human brain. However, there is still a lacking of direct evidence to associate these two.

Objectives: Therefore, we aim to explore the association between creativity, a typical human high-order cognitive function, and unimodal-transmodal gradient, using two independent datasets of young adults.

Methods: For each individual, we identified the unimodal-transmodal gradient in functional connectome and calculated its global measures. Then we correlated the individual creativity score with measures of unimodal-transmodal gradient at global-brain, subsystem, and regional level.

Results: The results suggested that better creative performance was associated with greater distance between primary areas and transmodal regions in gradient axes, and less distance between ventral attention network and default mode network. Individual creativity was also found positively correlated with regional gradients in ventral attention network, and negatively correlated with gradients of regions in visual cortex.

Conclusion: Together, these findings directly link the unimodal-transmodal gradient to individual creativity, providing empirical evidence for the cognitive implications of functional connectome gradient.

Keywords: creativity; functional gradient; individual difference; transmodal regions.