The effect of working memory load on interference inhibition in table tennis athletes: the moderating role of motor expertise

Background: Although the effect of working memory load on interference inhibition has been widely investigated, how the effect manifests in expert athletes remains unclear. Methods: A dual-task paradigm combining an n-back task and a Spatial Stroop task was employed. 20 table tennis athletes and 19 non-athletes were recruited, and event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) were analyzed to examine underlying neural activity patterns. Results: In the Spatial Stroop task, increased working memory load reduced the interference effect on RTs and midfrontal theta power, and was associated with decreased parietal alpha power. Regarding the P300, increased working memory load reduced the interference effect on P300 amplitude in non-athletes. In contrast, the athletes demonstrated a lower interference effect on P300 amplitude and showed no significant impact of working memory load. Conclusion: Increased working memory load reduced the impact of distractors, thereby leading to an overall reduction in the Stroop interference effect. Motor expertise was found to moderate the effect of working memory load on interference inhibition, specifically at the P300 amplitude level. Compared with non-athletes, table tennis athletes exhibited a more efficient and stable pattern of attentional resource allocation under working memory load, this pattern suggests that the moderating role of motor expertise is component-specific. Taken together, the present findings extend existing research on working memory and interference inhibition in athletes and deepen our understanding the relationship between long-term specialized training and brain function.