Abstract Remote association is the ability to combine seemingly unrelated components into new concepts and is evaluated via the Remote Associates Test (RAT). The RAT has generally been used to examine brain activation during insight problem solving but not remote association. Moreover, little is known about the neural correlates of remote association and close association. To address this issue, we used the associative distance in the development of the RAT and designed remote associated items and close associated items. We collected brain images during observation of remote and close associated items from 30 adult participants and analyzed the activation of brain regions involved in remote and close associations. The results showed that processing of remote and close association occurred in the posterior cingulate cortex. After controlling for the influence of other associations, we found that the rostromedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and middle temporal gyrus were involved exclusively in remote association. These results showed that remote association has conjunctive and disjunctive neurocognitive mechanisms. Our results contribute to the understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms of different associations and provide empirical support for the associative theory of creativity.

中文翻译：

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远程和密切关联的神经认知机制：一项功能磁共振成像研究

摘要 远程关联是将看似不相关的组件组合成新概念的能力，并通过远程关联测试 (RAT) 进行评估。RAT 通常用于检查洞察力问题解决期间的大脑激活，但不用于远程关联。此外，对于远程关联和密切关联的神经相关性知之甚少。为了解决这个问题，我们在RAT的开发中使用了关联距离，并设计了远程关联项和近距离关联项。我们在观察 30 名成年参与者的远程和密切相关项目期间收集了大脑图像，并分析了涉及远程和密切关联的大脑区域的激活。结果表明，远近关联的加工发生在后扣带皮层。在控制其他关联的影响后，我们发现前额叶前额叶皮质、楔前叶和颞中回仅参与远程关联。这些结果表明，远程关联具有连接和分离的神经认知机制。我们的结果有助于理解不同关联的神经认知机制，并为创造力的关联理论提供经验支持。