The Moderating Role of Trait Anxiety in the Relationship Between Acute Aerobic Exercise and Cognitive Control in College Students

This study aimed to introduce trait anxiety as an individual-difference factor and further examine the complex relationship between acute aerobic exercise and cognitive control in college students.

A mixed experimental design was adopted. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and used to classify participants into high- and low-trait-anxiety groups. Cognitive control was measured with the AX continuous performance task (AX-CPT). The intervention conditions consisted of 20 min of seated rest and moderate-intensity acute aerobic exercise. A 2 (intervention: acute aerobic exercise vs. rest) × 2 (time: pretest vs. posttest) × 2 (trait anxiety: high vs. low) repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted.

Only participants with high trait anxiety showed a significant reduction in posttest reaction time on BX trials, an index of proactive control, following acute aerobic exercise (p < 0.001), with no significant change in accuracy (p > 0.050). In addition, the proactive behavioral index (PBI) for error rate [PBI(error)] significantly increased in this group after exercise (p = 0.031). No significant changes were observed in d'(Proactive), A-cue bias, PBI(RT), PBI(composite), or indices of reactive control under any intervention condition. Among participants with low trait anxiety, neither intervention produced significant changes in proactive control, as reflected by BX trials, or reactive control, as reflected by AY trials and d'(Reactive) (all p s > 0.050).

Trait anxiety exerted a significant influence on the relationship between acute aerobic exercise and cognitive control, with this effect being particularly evident in reaction time during proactive control. These findings suggest that future exercise interventions should incorporate individuals' baseline cognitive control characteristics to develop more precise and individualized exercise prescriptions.