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Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
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Working memory maintenance is sufficient to reduce state anxiety.

Nicholas L Balderston1, David Quispe-Escudero2, Elizabeth Hale2

  • 1Section on Neurobiology of Fear and Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. nicholas.balderston@nih.gov.

Psychophysiology
|July 20, 2016
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Summary

Working memory load can reduce state anxiety by engaging maintenance processes, not just central executive functions. This finding extends the attentional control theory (ACT) and suggests a load-dependent anxiety suppression mechanism.

Keywords:
AnxietyStartle blinkWorking memory

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychophysiology

Background:

  • Attentional Control Theory (ACT) posits anxiety impairs cognition by favoring bottom-up over top-down attention, straining working memory resources.
  • Prior research indicates working memory load, particularly with tasks like the n-back, can reduce state anxiety.
  • A key question is whether this anxiety reduction is mediated by central executive functions, as ACT might imply.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if central executive engagement or working memory maintenance processes drive the anxiety reduction observed with increasing cognitive load.
  • To investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between working memory load and state anxiety.
  • To explore potential extensions of the Attentional Control Theory (ACT).

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Sternberg working memory paradigm to differentiate between maintenance and central executive processes.
  • Manipulated working memory load (high vs. low) during the task.
  • Measured participants' state anxiety levels during different task phases.

Main Results:

  • Participants exhibited reduced state anxiety during the maintenance period of high-load trials compared to low-load trials.
  • This anxiety reduction occurred even when central executive engagement was minimal, suggesting maintenance processes are sufficient.
  • Findings contradict the ACT's implication that central executive mechanisms solely mediate the cognition-anxiety relationship.

Conclusions:

  • Engaging working memory maintenance processes can suppress state anxiety in a load-dependent manner, extending the ACT.
  • The observed anxiety reduction is not solely dependent on central executive functions.
  • This load-dependent anxiety suppression may moderate the impact of trait anxiety on cognitive performance.