Traumatic brain injury and creative divergent thinking.
Arianna Rigon, Justin Reber, Nirav N Patel and 1 others
PMID 32343615WHAT IT FOUND
The group with moderate-to-severe TBI scored similarly to healthy adults on two tests of generating unusual ideas, despite lower processing speed, set-shifting, and verbal learning scores.
Key findings
01The group with moderate-to-severe TBI did not differ from the healthy comparison group on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults, including the overall Creativity Index and Creativity Level.
02The group with TBI also did not differ from healthy participants on the number of correct or attempted responses on the Alternative Uses Task.
03The TBI group performed worse than healthy participants on several neuropsychological measures, including processing speed, set shifting, immediate and short-delay verbal learning, and psychological distress.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study compared 29 participants with TBI with 20 healthy participants, so it may not have had enough people to detect a real difference in divergent thinking. It was an observational group comparison, not a treatment study, so it cannot show that any intervention improves creative thinking or daily function. The Abbreviated Torrance Test was validated mainly in healthy people, and the authors noted the tests may not be sensitive enough to detect deficits after TBI. There was large individual variability within the TBI group, so the average result may not describe any one patient. Some data were missing or adjusted: one healthy participant did not complete the distress questionnaire, and two TBI participants did not finish the set-shifting test within the time limit. Location of damage was available for only 14 participants, so patterns of brain injury could not be fully related to performance.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that TBI leaves creative thinking intact or that therapy can rely on it as a proven strength. This was a small observational comparison, not a treatment study, and the authors noted large individual variability and possible insensitivity of the tests.