April 2004 | Mark Jung-Beeman, Edward M. Bowden, Jason Haberman, Jennifer L. Frymiare, Stella Arambel-Liu, Richard Greenblatt, Paul J. Reber, John Kounios
People sometimes solve problems with insight, marked by an "Aha!" experience, which involves sudden recognition of connections between distant concepts. This study identifies distinct neural correlates of insight solutions. Functional MRI (Experiment 1) showed increased activity in the right hemisphere anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG) for insight solutions compared to noninsight solutions. Scalp EEG (Experiment 2) revealed a sudden burst of high-frequency (gamma-band) neural activity in the same area, beginning 0.3 seconds before insight solutions. The right aSTG is associated with integrating distant semantic information during comprehension. While problem-solving relies on a shared cortical network, insight solutions involve distinct neural and cognitive processes that enable sudden recognition of connections. The study confirms that insight solutions are associated with increased activity in the right aSTG, suggesting its role in processing distant semantic relations. EEG results also show a gamma-band burst preceding insight solutions, indicating a sudden transition from unconscious to conscious processing. These findings support the idea that insight involves unique neural mechanisms, particularly in the right aSTG, and highlight the importance of semantic integration in solving problems with insight.People sometimes solve problems with insight, marked by an "Aha!" experience, which involves sudden recognition of connections between distant concepts. This study identifies distinct neural correlates of insight solutions. Functional MRI (Experiment 1) showed increased activity in the right hemisphere anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG) for insight solutions compared to noninsight solutions. Scalp EEG (Experiment 2) revealed a sudden burst of high-frequency (gamma-band) neural activity in the same area, beginning 0.3 seconds before insight solutions. The right aSTG is associated with integrating distant semantic information during comprehension. While problem-solving relies on a shared cortical network, insight solutions involve distinct neural and cognitive processes that enable sudden recognition of connections. The study confirms that insight solutions are associated with increased activity in the right aSTG, suggesting its role in processing distant semantic relations. EEG results also show a gamma-band burst preceding insight solutions, indicating a sudden transition from unconscious to conscious processing. These findings support the idea that insight involves unique neural mechanisms, particularly in the right aSTG, and highlight the importance of semantic integration in solving problems with insight.