The Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Mental Representation Restructuring

This project will explore the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying human creativity and problem-solving, focusing on how sudden aha-moments change the organization of our mental representations. The process of restructuring semantic space will be targeted as a concrete example of shifts in mental representations. Participants will engage in tasks designed to reveal individual semantic distances between concepts and challenge them to form new creative connections, thereby restructuring their mental landscape. Concurrent EEG measurements will shed light on the neural correlates of these transformative moments. Additionally, we will examine how individual traits, such as intolerance of uncertainty and trait anxiety, influence the phenomenological characteristics of insights. This research promises to shed light on the intricate processes that underlie creative thought, testing hypotheses put forth by a theoretical model of insights.