Impaired micro-online motor learning processes in individuals with severe anxiety

Shikha Prashad^1,2*Ashley Murray²Victoria M Rednoske^1,2

• ¹The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, United States
• ²Washington State University, Pullman, United States

Anxiety is a prevalent emotional state with physiological and psychological manifestations that can disrupt cognitive processes, such as working memory and attention, leading to impaired motor performance and may also influence motor learning. This study investigated the effect of anxiety on implicit motor learning, visuospatial short-term and working memory, and perceived mental and physical effort. We collected data from 79 individuals using the serial reaction time task, the Corsi block-tapping test, and the NASA-Task Load Index. Participants were grouped based on their anxiety levels measured via the Beck Anxiety Inventory. All groups demonstrated intact implicit motor learning; however, learning processes differed between groups. The severe anxiety group exhibited learning after two-minute breaks between blocks (i.e., micro-offline learning), but did not demonstrate micro-online learning (i.e., improvements in performance while executing the task. In contrast, the minimal anxiety group exhibited both learning processes. Additionally, participants with severe anxiety reported greater frustration and feeling more rushed during the task compared to those with minimal anxiety. Furthermore, the severe anxiety group also demonstrated significantly lower working memory capacity compared to their short-term memory capacity. Together, these results suggest that while individuals with higher anxiety levels demonstrated intact implicit motor learning, they required greater cognitive resources for the learning to occur.