The influence of learning methods and reinvestment propensity on motor performance and their neural mechanisms

Maintaining stable motor performance under stress is crucial. Clarifying whether and under what conditions different learning methods produce differences in motor performance stability and its neural mechanisms holds both theoretical and practical value. This study aimed to investigate how learning methods and reinvestment propensity influence motor performance and its neural mechanisms in stressful situations. Using a golf putting task, 60 learners were grouped into high/low CMP propensity groups and further divided into four subgroups based on learning methods (analogy, explicit). Results indicated that stress intervention effectively induced subjective anxiety changes in learners. Behaviorally, no significant interaction between learning methods and CMP propensity was observed during test phase transitions. Neurologically, a significant interaction between CMP propensity and test phase was observed in T7-Fz coherence: low CMP individuals exhibited significantly increased T7-Fz coherence under stress, while high CMP individuals remained stable. No significant interaction between learning methods and test phase was found. In this study, under stressful conditions, CMP propensity had a more pronounced effect on motor performance than learning methods. This offers new theoretical and practical perspectives in the field of motor skill learning.