Assessment of motor learning using a mobile device and association with anxiety: RCT

Introduction. Motor learning (AM) represents a set of internal and permanent changes in the individual's ability to perform a motor task. This can be influenced by the complexity of the task and anxiety. Objective. To evaluate motor learning using the gamified Trail Making Test and correlate the data with anxiety in female university students. Method. The sample was comprised 33 right-handed female university students between 18 and 25 years of age randomized to two groups: G1 (n=16) – part A of the gamified Trail Making Test; G2 (n=17) – part B of the gamified Trail Making Test. Anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Normality of the data was determined using the Komolgorov-Smirnov test. The Mann-Whitney test and t-test were used for the characterization of the sample. Intra-group and inter-group comparisons were performed using the Friedman and Wilcoxon tests. The correlation with the independent variable (STAI-trait) and the dependent variable (errors on the test) was determined using Spearman’s correlation test. Results. In the inter-group analysis, significant differences were found in the time required to complete environments 1 (p=0.006), 4 (p=0.040), and 6 (p=0.034) as well as the number of errors in environments 1 (p=0.004), 4 (p=0.023), and 5 (p=0.027). In the intra-group analysis, significant differences were found among nearly all environments for time and number of errors in both groups. A moderate positive correlation was found between the STAI-trait and number of errors in environments 2 (p=0.015, r=0.581) and 4 (p=0.032, r=0.520) in G2. Conclusion. The use of the Trail Making Test modified by gamification in this study reflects aspects of motor learning, which is directly influenced by factors such as the difficulty of the task and anxiety.