The Function of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) in the Insightful Solving of Puzzles: The ACC Is Activated Less When the Structure of the Puzzle Is Known

It has been observed in recent neuroimaging studies that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in the insightful solving of puzzles. Yet, the exact function of the ACC in insight is not clear. In this event-related fMRI study, we compared the neural correlates of the solving of two kinds of puzzles. In Condition A, the subjects solved a list of puzzles that were constructed by different principles; whereas in Condition B, all of the puzzles were constructed by the same principle. Thus, it was possible for the solvers to allocate some task-general strategy to solve the puzzles in Condition B. For Condition A, such top-down control was relatively difficult to achieve. The results showed that, relative to the resting baseline, both conditions evoked comparable activities in the left lateral prefrontal cortex, but that Condition A evoked more ACC activities than Journal of Psychology in Chinese Societies !"#$%, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2004), 195–213