New Delhi: A new study has identified a region in the brainstem that may play a crucial role in cognitive flexibility -- the mental ability to adapt to changing situations and switch behavioural strategies.

Impairment in cognitive flexibility is associated with conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside found that the locus coeruleus -- a tiny region in the brainstem -- may help the brain switch between behavioural rules and maintain flexible thinking.

"The brain is constantly faced with changing environments and demands. Our work shows that the locus coeruleus acts as a key regulator that helps the brain transition between behavioural states efficiently," said Hongdian Yang, associate professor of molecular, cell and systems biology and senior author of the study published in the journal eLife.

For the study, researchers trained mice on a rule-switching task designed to test attentional flexibility.

The animals were initially taught to locate food rewards using one type of sensory cue, such as texture, before the rules were changed without warning, requiring them to rely on odour instead.

The team found that when activity in the locus coeruleus and its neural connections to the medial prefrontal cortex was suppressed, the mice struggled to adapt, continued using outdated strategies and needed significantly more attempts to learn the new rule.

Researchers said the findings add to growing evidence that psychiatric and neurological disorders may involve difficulties in reorganising neural networks when circumstances change.