Keep calm and exercise on: A single bout of exercise supports executive function across a continuum of trait anxiety levels

Abstract

Executive function (EF) is a cognitive construct supporting activities of daily living. Trait anxiety (TA) is a stable predisposition to experiencing anxiety that some work has linked to an EF deficit. In turn, a single bout of aerobic exercise elicits a postexercise EF benefit and therefore may serve as an intervention to ameliorate TA-related EF deficits. Here, we examined whether postexercise EF benefits differ across individuals along the continuum of TA. Participants (N = 31) completed a single 25-min bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (via cycle ergometer) and an equivalent duration non-exercise control condition. TA was assessed via the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and pre- and post-condition EF was assessed via the antisaccade task. STAI values ranged from 23 to 60 and produced an average of 42 (SD = 10), and a linear mixed model employing STAI as a covariate showed that the variable was positively correlated with reaction time (RT) across all experimental conditions. Moreover, a higher-order interaction showed that the exercise condition – but not the control condition – produced a pre- to post-condition reduction in antisaccade RTs and was a result that did not vary across the continuum of participant-specific STAI values. Thus, although increased TA was associated with reduced information processing efficiency, TA status did not impact the extent to which exercise provided an EF “boost”. Accordingly, single bout and prospective chronic exercise programs may serve to ameliorate TA-based EF changes.