Adrenaline-fueled cognition
Clash Royale CLAN TAG #URR8PPP up vote 8 down vote favorite 2 So, I'm currently toying around with the idea of a hypercarnivorous sapient race on a planet in my universe, and I'd like to make them scary, but without abiding only by the "rule of cool". (Also note that the science, especially biology, involved in building this world is more important , to me, than the story) A recent idea of mine regarding these sophonts is to have increased adrenaline (or an alien analogue of adrenaline) production dramatically speed up the transmission of signals inside the brain, and therefore (If I assume correctly), increase the creature's intelligence. So, my question is: could an increase in adrenaline production cause a wholly noticeable change in the perceived "intelligence" of a species, and if so, how would this work? When I say "intelligence", I'm not really obeying any strict scientific definition; what I mean is that the creature w...