Abstract

Only problems that cannot be solved without representational changes can be regarded as pure insight problems; others are classified as pseudo-insight problems. Existing studies using neuroimaging have not yet distinguished between pure insight and pseudo-insight problems. This study is the first to investigate the brain mechanism of representational change via the remote associates test. Based on the homonymy of Chinese characters, we developed two sets of Chinese remote associates tests (CRATs). By comparing the brain activity of 30 adults during pure and pseudo-insight problem solving, we analysed the commonality and uniqueness of brain activation while solving these two insight problems. The results show that these two types of insight problem solving share the same brain activation area (i.e., the ventral precuneus and thalamus) and different operating areas. This study enhances our understanding of how representational change generates insight.

摘要

只有在没有代表性的改变的情况下无法解决的问题才可以被视为纯粹的洞察力问题。其他的则归为伪视力问题。现有的使用神经影像学的研究尚未区分纯洞察力和伪洞察力问题。这项研究是第一个通过远程关联测试研究表征变化的大脑机制的研究。基于汉字的同音异义，我们开发了两组中文远程助理测试（CRAT）。通过比较30位成年人在纯净和拟真知觉问题解决过程中的大脑活动，我们分析了解决这两个知觉问题时大脑激活的共性和唯一性。结果表明，这两种类型的洞察力问题解决方法共享相同的大脑激活区域（即，腹前丘脑和丘脑）和不同的手术区域。这项研究增强了我们对代表性变化如何产生洞察力的理解。