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The impact of chronic pain on creative ideation: An examination of the underlying attention‐related psychophysiological mechanisms

2022; Wiley; Volume: 26; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/ejp.2000

1532-2149

Danièle Anne Gubler, Christian Rominger, Martin Grosse Holtforth, Niklaus Egloff, Frank Frickmann, Benjamin Goetze, Michael Alexander Harnik, Konrad Streitberger, Stephan Zeiß, Stefan J. Troche,

Sport Psychology and Performance

Abstract Background Attentional deficits in patients with chronic pain are common and well studied. Yet, few studies have examined the effects of chronic pain on more complex cognitive abilities that rely on well‐functioning attentional systems. With the current study, we aimed to investigate whether the impact of chronic pain on attention affects creative ideation as measured with an adaptation of the alternate uses task (AUT). Methods Performance in the AUT was compared between 33 patients suffering from chronic pain and 33 healthy matched controls. While solving the task, EEG was recorded to measure the degree of internally directed attention assessed by means of task‐related power (TRP) changes. Results The results revealed that patients with chronic pain generated less creative ideas than healthy controls. This lack of performance was accompanied by lower event‐related synchronization (ERS), especially in right parietal sites. Furthermore, these ERS differences explained one‐third of the inter‐group variance in AUT performance. Conclusions These results suggest that performance decrements in creative ideation in patients with chronic pain may be at least partly attributable to attentional impairments associated with chronic pain. Significance Chronic pain negatively affects attention and more complex cognitive abilities. However, the underlying psychophysiological mechanisms and the role of attention as a source of these impairments in more complex abilities are poorly understood. By analyzing task‐related power changes in the EEG, the role of internal attention in creative ideation could be determined, revealing the functional relationship between chronic pain, attention, and a more complex cognitive ability.