Creativity Neurodynamics and Ageing: a microstate EEG pilot study.

The main aim of the presented pilot study was to investigate brain network dynamics during creative task performance in older adults. Creativity was operationalised as divergent thinking and assessed via the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) upon electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Thirty-eight healthy older adults participated in the study; 15 participants were excluded due to difficulties understanding or retaining task instructions, resulting in a final sample of 23 participants. We examined the neurodynamics of creativity in more and less creative older adults using EEG microstate analysis, which revealed eight microstate classes, interpreted in accordance with recent literature. Correlation analyses between microstate parameters and AUT scores (creativity, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration) revealed that more creative participants relied on executive control and default mode networks to generate original and novel ideas, while selectively drawing on autobiographical memory to produce a greater number of ideas across categories. Less creative participants showed stronger involvement of semantic and somatosensory/interoceptive networks, suggesting reliance on mental simulations and bodily awareness during idea generation. These findings provide preliminary evidence on neural mechanisms supporting creativity in late adulthood and offer insights for future research on age-related changes in cognition and brain network dynamics.