Noradrenergic modulation of cognitive flexibility in problem solving

TLDR

Stress impairs creative performance, β‑adrenergic blockers improve it, and catecholamine precursors diminish semantic network flexibility. The study examined how noradrenergic modulation influences cognitive flexibility during problem solving. Eighteen healthy participants performed number series, shape manipulation, and anagram tasks 45 min after receiving propranolol, placebo, or ephedrine. Propranolol reduced solution times for anagram tasks compared to ephedrine, indicating noradrenergic modulation enhances cognitive flexibility.

Abstract

STRESS causes impaired performance on tests of creativity. Drugs that block β-adrenergic receptors improve test performance in patients with test anxiety. Furthermore, catecholamine precursors (L-DOPA) reduce the flexibility of semantic networks. Our study investigated the effect of noradrenergic system modulation on cognitive flexibility in problem solving. Eighteen normal subjects undertook three problem solving tasks (number series, shape manipulation and anagrams) 45 min after propranolol, placebo and ephedrine. On the task that appeared to rely most heavily on cognitive flexibility (anagrams), subjects who were most able to solve these problems demonstrated significantly shorter solution times (logarithmic scores) after propranolol than after ephedrine. This suggested that the noradrenergic system exerts a modulatory effect on cognitive flexibility in problem solving.