Key result
Higher levels of state and trait anxiety were significantly associated with reduced P300 amplitudes (r = -0.15 and r = -0.12, respectively), suggesting impaired working memory updating during decision-making.
Why the study?
Stress may alter executive functioning via brain changes, and sub-optimal decisions made under high stress and anxiety may mediate stress-related health effects.
Cross-Sectional (n=329)
No
Effect estimate: r = -0.15
p-value: p=0.01
State and trait anxiety, but not chronic stress, are associated with reduced P300 amplitudes during decision-making tasks, suggesting anxiety impacts working memory updating but not feedback learning.
Anxiety may impair working memory updating in decisions; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
Stress may alter executive functioning by causing structural and functional changes to the brain. Sub-optimal decisions made under high levels of stress and anxiety may act as a mediator for stress-related health effects. We examined the effect of three personality traits–chronic stress, state anxiety, and trait anxiety–on updating working memory and feedback learning across 330 participants, using electroencephalography (EEG). We hypothesized a decrease in P300 (updating working memory) and reward positivity (feedback learning) amplitudes with increasing chronic stress and anxiety scores. The three personality traits were not correlated with reward positivity amplitudes. Additionally, chronic stress had no effect on P300 amplitudes. However, state and trait anxiety were negatively correlated with P300 amplitudes. Anxiety appears to impact working memory processes, and this effect was amplified with decreasing anxiety score quantiles to reflect the tails of the distribution. Our results are evidence of the beginnings of a correlation between anxiety and the neural correlates of decision-making, offering insight into anxiety-related adverse health outcomes.
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Rowe et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy (assessing chronic stress and anxiety) (n=329). State anxiety, trait anxiety, and chronic stress vs. Lower levels of anxiety and stress was evaluated on Correlation between state anxiety (STAI-S scores) and P300 amplitude (r = -0.15, p=0.01). Higher levels of state and trait anxiety were significantly associated with reduced P300 amplitudes (r = -0.15 and r = -0.12, respectively), suggesting impaired working memory updating during decision-making.
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