Author ORCID Identifier
Preston P. Thakral: 0000-0001-6603-6186
Sarah E. Kalinowski: 0000-0003-3543-248X
Daniel L. Schacter: 0000-0002-2460-6061
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-9-2020
Publication Title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Abstract
Prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that a core network of brain regions, including the hippocampus, is jointly recruited during episodic memory, episodic simulation, and divergent creative thinking. Because fMRI data are correlational, it is unknown whether activity increases in the hippocampus, and the core network more broadly, play a causal role in episodic simulation and divergent thinking. Here we employed fMRI-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess whether temporary disruption of hippocampal brain networks impairs both episodic simulation and divergent thinking. For each of two TMS sessions, continuous θ-burst stimulation (cTBS) was applied to either a control site (vertex) or to a left angular gyrus target region. The target region was identified on the basis of a participant-specific resting-state functional connectivity analysis with a hippocampal seed region previously associated with memory, simulation, and divergent thinking. Following cTBS, participants underwent fMRI and performed a simulation, divergent thinking, and nonepisodic control task. cTBS to the target region reduced the number of episodic details produced for the simulation task and reduced idea production on divergent thinking. Performance in the control task did not statistically differ as a function of cTBS site. fMRI analyses revealed a selective and simultaneous reduction in hippocampal activity during episodic simulation and divergent thinking following cTBS to the angular gyrus versus vertex but not during the nonepisodic control task. Our findings provide evidence that hippocampal-targeted TMS can specifically modulate episodic simulation and divergent thinking, and suggest that the hippocampus is critical for these cognitive functions.
Keywords
Creativity, Episodic memory, FMRI, Imagination, TMS |
Volume
117
Issue
23
First Page
12729
Last Page
12740
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2003535117
ISSN
00278424
Recommended Citation
Thakral, Preston P.; Madore, Kevin P.; Kalinowski, Sarah E.; and Schacter, Daniel L., "Modulation of Hippocampal Brain Networks Produces Changes in Episodic Simulation and Divergent Thinking" (2020). Psychology: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/psy_facpubs/249
Comments
Archived as published.