Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, UMR-S975, Paris, France.
Neuropsychologia. 2010 Nov;48(13):3733-42. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.09.010. Epub 2010 Sep 22.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) supports functions critical for creative thinking. Damage to the PFC is expected to impair creativity. Yet, previous works suggested the emergence of artistic talent in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which was interpreted as increased creativity.
We designed a study in patients with frontal variant (fv) of FTLD in order to verify whether: (1) creativity is impaired after frontal degeneration, (2) poor creativity is associated with frontal dysfunctions, and (3) poor creativity is related to hypoperfusion in specific PFC regions.
Three groups of subjects were enrolled in the study: fvFTLD patients (n=17), non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) patients (n=12) and healthy controls (n=17). Participants performed a standardized test of creativity, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and tests assessing frontal functions. Brain perfusion was correlated to fvFTLD patients' performance in the TTCT.
Patients with fvFTLD were strongly impaired in all dimensions of the TTCT, compared to PD patients and controls. Disinhibited and perseverative responses were observed only in fvFTLD patients, leading to "pseudo-creative" responses. Poor creativity was positively correlated with several frontal tests. Poor creativity was also correlated with prefrontal hypoperfusion, particularly in the frontal pole.
Poor creativity is associated with fvFTLD. The results also suggest that the integrity of the PFC (in particular frontopolar) is strongly associated with creative thinking. The emergence of artistic talent in patients with fvFTLD is explained by the release of involuntary behaviors, rather than by the development of creative thinking.
前额皮质（PFC）支持对创造性思维至关重要的功能。预计 PFC 损伤会损害创造力。然而，先前的研究表明，额颞叶变性（FTLD）患者出现了艺术天赋，这被解释为创造力的提高。
我们设计了一项针对额侧变异型 FTLD 患者的研究，以验证以下几点：（1）额部退化后创造力是否受损；（2）创造力差是否与额叶功能障碍有关；（3）创造力差是否与特定 PFC 区域的灌注不足有关。
研究纳入了三组受试者：额侧变异型 FTLD 患者（n=17）、非痴呆型帕金森病（PD）患者（n=12）和健康对照组（n=17）。参与者完成了一项标准化的创造力测试，即托兰斯创造性思维测试（TTCT）和评估额叶功能的测试。将脑灌注与额侧变异型 FTLD 患者在 TTCT 中的表现进行相关性分析。
与 PD 患者和对照组相比，额侧变异型 FTLD 患者在 TTCT 的所有维度上均受到严重损害。仅在额侧变异型 FTLD 患者中观察到抑制解除和坚持反应，导致“假性创造性”反应。创造力差与多项额叶测试呈正相关。创造力差也与前额叶灌注不足相关，特别是在前额极。
创造力差与额侧变异型 FTLD 有关。研究结果还表明，PFC（特别是额极）的完整性与创造性思维密切相关。额侧变异型 FTLD 患者出现艺术天赋的原因是无意识行为的释放，而不是创造性思维的发展。
