Tracking the neurodynamics of insight: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies

• Published in: Biological psychology Vol. 138; pp. 189 - 198
• Main Authors: Shen, Wangbing, Tong, Yu, Li, Feng, Yuan, Yuan, Hommel, Bernhard, Liu, Chang, Luo, Jing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.10.2018
• Subjects: Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Brain network; Creative insight; Creativity; Humans; Incubation; Meta-analysis; Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging; Nerve Net - physiology; Neuroimaging; Thinking - physiology; Neuroimaging; Creative insight; Incubation; Brain network; Meta-analysis
• ISSN: 0301-0511; 1873-6246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.08.018

•Neural correlates of integrated insight were examined through quantitative meta-analysis.•The dynamic brain activation engaged at the four stages of the insight process was identified.•The general and phasic insight brain underpinnings were principally determined.•The roles of various networks in the general and staged insight were isolated. The nature of insight has been the interdisciplinary focus of scientific inquiry for over 100 years. Behavioral studies and biographical data suggest that insight, as a form of creative cognition, consists of at least four separate but intercorrelated stages as described by Wallas (1926). Yet no quantitative evidence was available for insight- or insight-stage-specific brain mechanisms that generalize across various insight tasks. The present work attempted, for one, to present an integrated and comprehensive description of the neural networks underlying insight and, for another, to identify dynamic brain mechanisms related to the four hypothetical stages of insight. To this end, we performed two quantitative meta-analyses: one for all available studies that used neuroimaging techniques to investigate insight, and the other for the phasic brain activation of insight drawn from task characteristics, using the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. One key finding was evidence of an integrated network of insight-activated regions, including the right medial frontal gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left amygdala and the right hippocampus. Importantly, various brain areas were variably recruited during the four stages. Based on the ALE results, the general and stage-specific neural correlates of insight were determined and potential implications are discussed.