Fig. 1.

Task-related changes in EEG alpha power (upper alpha band, 10–12 Hz) during the generation of creative/original uses in the Alternative Uses (AU) task. Blue regions indicate increases in alpha power relative to rest. AF: anteriofrontal; F: frontal; FC: frontocentral; CT: centrotemporal; CP: centroparietal; PT: parietotemporal; PO: parietooccipital. Participants’ task was to generate alternative uses of conventional everyday objects such as “umbrella”, “pencil” or “vase of flowers”, etc. Based on the originality of ideas, the total sample was divided into a group of lower (n = 25) and into a group of higher originality (n = 22). Both groups showed comparatively strong increases in alpha power (relative to a pre-stimulus reference interval) over anteriofrontal sites. Higher original individuals exhibited a hemispheric asymmetry with respect to alpha activity, with stronger increases in alpha in the right than in the left hemisphere, while in lower original individuals no hemispheric differences emerged. Figure redrawn from Fink et al. (2009a), Human Brain Mapping, 30, 734–748.