The Neuroscience of the Flow State: Involvement of the Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine System

Frontiers in Psychology

Dimitri van der Linden¹  Arnold B. Bakker²  Mattie Tops³ 

[1] Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands;Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands;Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa;Developmental and Educational Psychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands;

关键词: flow state;    locus coeruleus;    norepinephrine;    task engagement;    peak experience;    human performance;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645498

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Flow is a state of full task engagement that is accompanied with low-levels of self-referential thinking. Flow is considered highly relevant for human performance and well-being and has, therefore, been studied extensively. Yet, the neurocognitive processes of flow remain largely unclear. In the present mini-review we focus on how the brain's locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system may be involved in a range of behavioral and subjective manifestations of flow. The LC-NE system regulates decisions regarding task engagement vs. disengagement. This is done via different modes of baseline and stimulus-evoked norepinephrine release. We emphasize the theoretical and empirical overlap between the LC-NE system and flow. For both, a match between a person's skill and task challenge is important in order to induce high levels task-related attention. Moreover, psychophysiological indicators of LC-NE system activity, such as eye pupil diameter and arousal are also sensitive to flow states. Flow is related to arousal in an inverted U-shape. Similarly, in theories on the LC-NE system, task engagement is highest with intermediate levels of arousal. We argue that knowledge about the role of the LC-NE system in establishing the flow experience may help to gain fundamental knowledge of flow and can contribute to unifying various empirical findings on this topic.

【 授权许可】

CC BY