Prior high demand is associated with lower subsequent performance in a manual antisaccade task

Prior high cognitive demand can be followed by lower performance on subsequent cognitive-control tasks, but the nature of this post-demand disadvantage remains unclear. We examined whether later performance differences were selectively Anti-specific, broader across task types, or varied with post-cue preparation time. Eighty-four participants completed an online sequential-task experiment. Task 1 was an adaptive block-counting task that manipulated prior performance demand. Task 2 was a keyboard-response manual antisaccade task with Pro and Anti conditions and cue-target intervals (CTIs) of 50, 200, and 400 ms. Accuracy and correct-trial reaction time (RT) were analyzed. The high-demand Task 1 version produced lower accuracy than the low-demand version. In Task 2, the high-demand group had lower accuracy than the low-demand group. The simple interaction analysis revealed that the Anti Group × CTI interaction was significant, whereas the Pro interaction was not. Group differences were present at all three Anti CTIs and were numerically largest at 400 ms. Neither corrected RT simple interaction was significant, so no downstream RT simple effects were interpreted. Prior high demand was associated with lower subsequent manual antisaccade accuracy. The Anti CTI pattern is consistent with, but does not establish, differences in post-cue processing. Because conditions used separate task links, the results are associations rather than definitive causal estimates.