Structural nodal efficiency in executive-function-related regions moderates individual and paired-player creativity

This study investigates how the structural nodal efficiency of selected executive-function-related regions moderates the relationship between individual and collaborative performance on divergent thinking tasks and Chinese Radical Remote Associates Tests (CRRAT). Participants completed the Alternative Uses Task and CRRAT in individual and paired-player modes, while undergoing diffusion-based structural brain imaging. Results revealed that the nodal efficiency of selected nodes located within the superior frontal, inferior frontal, anterior cingulate, and posterior cingulate regions significantly moderated the relationship between individual and collaborative creativity performance. When node efficiency in these regions was higher, individual performance positively predicted collaborative performance. Additionally, the nodal efficiency of selected nodes located within the superior and middle temporal regions moderated the relationship between individual and paired performances on the CRRAT. In these regions, lower node efficiency was associated with a stronger positive predictive relationship between individual and collaborative CRRAT performance. These findings highlight the moderating effects of regional structural network efficiency in creativity, offering neural insights into individual and collaborative cognitive performance in one-on-one interactive contexts.