Guo Xiaoyu, Wang Yifan, Kan Yuecui, Wu Meilin, Ball Linden J, Duan Haijun
Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.
Psychophysiology. 2024 Mar;61(3):e14472. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14472. Epub 2023 Nov 15.
With the ever-changing social environment, individual creativity is facing a severe challenge induced by stress. However, little is known regarding the underlying mechanisms by which acute stress affects creative cognitive processing. The current research explored the impacts of the neuroendocrine response on creativity under stress and its underlying cognitive flexibility mechanisms. The enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay was employed to assess salivary cortisol, which acted as a marker of stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Eye blink rate (EBR) and pupil diameter were measured as respective indicators of dopamine and noradrenaline released by the activation of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis. The Wisconsin card task (WCST) measured cognitive flexibility, while the alternative uses task (AUT) and the remote association task (RAT) measured separately divergent and convergent thinking in creativity. Results showed higher cortisol increments following acute stress induction in the stress group than control group. Ocular results showed that the stress manipulation significantly increased EBR and pupil diameter compared to controls, reflecting increased SAM activity. Further analysis revealed that stress-released cortisol impaired the originality component of the AUT, reducing cognitive flexibility as measured by perseverative errors on the WCST task. Serial mediation analyses showed that both EBR and pupil diameter were also associated with increased perseverative errors leading to poor originality on the AUT. These findings confirm that physiological arousal under stress can impair divergent thinking through the regulation of different neuroendocrine pathways, in which the deterioration of flexible switching plays an important mediating role.
随着社会环境的不断变化，个体创造力正面临着由压力引发的严峻挑战。然而，关于急性应激影响创造性认知加工的潜在机制，我们知之甚少。当前的研究探讨了应激状态下神经内分泌反应对创造力的影响及其潜在的认知灵活性机制。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法评估唾液皮质醇，其作为下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴应激诱导激活的标志物。眨眼率（EBR）和瞳孔直径分别作为交感 - 肾上腺 - 髓质（SAM）轴激活释放的多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素的指标进行测量。威斯康星卡片任务（WCST）测量认知灵活性，而替代用途任务（AUT）和远距离联想任务（RAT）分别测量创造力中的发散性和聚合性思维。结果显示，与对照组相比，应激组在急性应激诱导后皮质醇增量更高。眼部结果表明，与对照组相比，应激操作显著增加了EBR和瞳孔直径，反映出SAM活动增强。进一步分析表明，应激释放的皮质醇损害了AUT的独创性成分，通过WCST任务中的持续性错误测量，降低了认知灵活性。系列中介分析表明，EBR和瞳孔直径也与导致AUT上独创性差的持续性错误增加有关。这些发现证实，应激状态下的生理唤醒可通过调节不同的神经内分泌途径损害发散性思维，其中灵活转换的恶化起着重要的中介作用。
