Functional activity and connectivity during ideation in professional product design engineers

Gerard Campbell; Laura Hay; Sam  Gibert; Chris  McTeague; Damien Coyle; Madeline  Grealy

doi:10.1016/j.destud.2024.101247

Functional activity and connectivity during ideation in professional product design engineers

Gerard Campbell, Laura Hay, Sam Gibert , Chris McTeague , Damien Coyle, Madeline Grealy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (SciVal)

Abstract

In product design engineering, ideation involves producing ideas for new products that fulfil functional requirements. Ideation is associated with activity in multiple regions across the brain. However, knowledge about how these regions interact is limited. In an fMRI study of professional product design engineers (n=30), we examined neural regions activated during ideation compared with three control conditions (rest, working memory and visuospatial processing). Using Psychophysiological Interactions analysis, we identified increased functional connectivity between five regions of interest and other areas. This included functional coupling between regions of the executive control and salience networks, and the default mode and visual networks. Connectivity between the lingual gyrus and cerebellum also suggests an interplay of visual and motor imagery during ideation.

Original language	English
Article number	101247
Journal	Design Studies
Volume	91-92
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2024.101247
Publication status	Published - 31 Mar 2024

Data Availability Statement

Data underpinning this publication are openly available from the University of Strathclyde KnowledgeBase at https://doi.org/10.15129/ebb043dd-9463-42f9-8954-5b23e98c244e.

Funding

A general finding in the current study was that overall, the activations tended to be left-lateralised. As with several other findings (see Dietrich & Kanso (2010) for review), these results directly contradict theories emphasising the predominance of the right hemisphere in creative cognition (Goel, 2014; Jung-Beeman et al., 2004). For example, Goel's (2014) Frontal Lobe Lateralisation Hypothesis argues that the right PFC \u201Csupports abstract, vague, ambiguous, indeterminate representations of the world\u201D (p.8), and that a level of right over left PFC dominance aids in solving ill-structured, ambiguous design problems.This research was supported by the United Kingdom's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (grant numbers EP/M012123/1 and EP/M01214X/1), and an EPSRC/University of Strathclyde Research Studentship (EP/M508159/1). The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution made by Alex Duffy who was the Principal Investigator on EP/M012123/1. He made a substantial contribution to the conception and design of the work and contributed until the data had been acquired. The authors would also like to thank Attila Korik, Richard Adams, Ross MacLachlan and Tijana Vuletic for their input into the work. This research was supported by the United Kingdom's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EPSRC ) (grant numbers EP /M012123/1 and EP /M01214X/1), and an EPSRC / University of Strathclyde Research Studentship ( EP /M508159/1). The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution made by Alex Duffy who was the Principal Investigator on EP/M012123/1. He made a substantial contribution to the conception and design of the work and contributed until the data had been acquired. The authors would also like to thank Attila Korik, Richard Adams, Ross MacLachlan and Tijana Vuletic for their input into the work.

Funders	Funder number
Attila Korik
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council	EP /M012123/1, EP /M01214X/1
University of Strathclyde	EP /M508159/1

Keywords

creative ideation
design cognition
fMRI
functional connectivity
neuroimaging

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Engineering
General Social Sciences
Artificial Intelligence
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Computer Science Applications
Architecture

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Cite this

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Functional activity and connectivity during ideation in professional product design engineers

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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