Electrophysiological and Psychological Parameters of Learning in Medical Students with High Trait Anxiety

The aim of the study was to evaluate the learning process in 30 subjects with high trait anxiety (mean TMAS score = 33.9 +/- 6.7) and in 30 subjects with low trait anxiety (mean TMAS score = 7.5 +/- 2.9) aged 19 to 22 years, using psycho-physiological and psychological tests. The electroexpectogram (EXG) paradigm and a computerized psychological test of pattern recognition (P-R) were used. The Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) was used for the evaluation of the levels of trait anxiety. The EXG paradigm is an experimental design which is a modified and an expanded auditory CNV paradigm. Based on a biofeedback design, the occurrence of the S2 tone in the EXG paradigm depends on the amplitude of the CNV potential recorded from Cz. If CNV reaches a predefined threshold level, the S2 tone turns off, which causes an extinction of the CNV potential after several consecutive trials. Electrophysiological parameters of the associative learning were: duration of the acquisition and the extinction of the conditioned response, mean amplitude of the contingent negative variation (CNV) during the blocks of acquisition and the extinction of the conditioned response and the speed of the motor response. Psychological parameters included: number of mistakes, number of trials, and time necessary for the P-R test to be completed, as well as the learning efficiency index. The results of the study suggest that subjects with high trait level show significantly slower and less efficient learning process during more complex cognitive tasks compared to subjects with low levels of trait anxiety.