4.1. Stress-induced modulation of HPA activation on creativity
The current study investigated the role of the HPA axis in the process
of acute stress affecting creative performance. Various studies have
indicated that activation of the HPA axis under stress results in the
release of the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol (Dedovic et al., 2009;
Munck et al., 1984). This evidence is consistent with our findings that
the salivary cortisol levels of participants increased after the MIST
task. The results of the serial mediation analysis showed that the
impairment of creativity under stress was mediated by the increase of
cortisol concentration and degraded cognitive flexibility.
High cortisol levels have been shown to prevent the coordination between
the salience network’s subregions and the central executive network (Hu
et al., 2019; Zhang et al, 2019). The salience network is involved in
filtering relevant interoceptive and emotional information (Dosenbach et
al., 2007; Menon, 2011). The central executive network is engaged in the
manipulation of working memory and decision-making (Fox et al., 2006;
Knudsen, 2007; Menon & Uddin, 2010). Stress-induced cortisol would
enhance the salience monitoring function of the salience network, but
the central executive network cannot respond effectively to the control
demands launched by the salience network (Hu et al., 2019; Zhang et al.,
2022), which is associated with enhanced emotional responses and
decreased executive functions (Laredo et al., 2015; Plessow et al.,
2011). As is well established, cognitive flexibility – one of the
executive functions – is a critical indicator of creativity (Boot et
al., 2017). Creative outputs result from two distinct cognitive
processes, flexibility and persistence (Nijstad et al., 2010), according
to the Dual Pathway to Creativity Model. We predicted that the
stress-related HPA axis would therefore adjust the balance between
flexibility and persistence to optimize behavior in a changing
environment. By this means, stress-induced cortisol elevation enhances
perseverative errors, impairs cognitive flexibility and leads to worse
creative performance, in line with our results.
Accordingly, cortisol and negative emotions may indirectly influence
each other via brain functions. Further studies can employ a cognitive
neuroscientific approach to investigate the relationships between
different types of negative emotions and cortisol during various types
of creative task performance to develop a comprehensive account of the
underlying brain mechanisms that are at play.