15. Anxiety Does Not Affect Oculomotor Reaction Time in Collegiate Athletes

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ID: 324455
2026
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Ranked #64 of 79 articles by views in archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the national academy of neuropsychologists

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Abstract
Abstract Purpose To compare baseline oculomotor reaction time (RT) in collegiate athletes with and without anxiety. Given the known cognitive and attentional impacts of anxiety, we hypothesized that athletes in the anxiety group would have longer (worse) RT. Method Sixteen collegiate athletes with a self-reported history of anxiety were compared to healthy controls matched on sex, sport, and age (n=32, 14 male, 43.8%; M=19.53±1.78 years old). All participants completed a virtual reality-based oculomotor testing battery that generated eye-tracking-derived saccadic and antisaccadic RT (ms). Athletes with a self-reported diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or depression were excluded. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare oculomotor RT between groups (α=0.05). Results Athletes in the anxiety group demonstrated similar saccadic RT (M=218.77±20.47 ms) compared to matched controls (M=218.83±24.65 ms), (t(30)=−0.008, p= .994, Cohen’s d=−0.003, 95% CI [−16.30,16.32]). Antisaccadic RT was also similar between the anxiety group (M=439.93±124.15 ms) and matched controls (M=436.87±115.32 ms), (t(30)=0.072, p=.943, Cohen’s d=0.026, 95% CI [-83.45,89.57]). Conclusions On average, athletes with anxiety demonstrated highly similar RT on both saccadic and antisaccadic assessments compared to athletes without anxiety. These findings contrast with prior research using other RT measures, which have commonly reported worse baseline RT in individuals with anxiety. Due to our small sample size, generalizability is limited, and further investigation into larger samples is warranted. Future research should examine whether anxiety-related differences in oculomotor RT emerge following concussion.
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openalex_W7202095006 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors B R Carolan, A C Aultz, C M Chaulk, C A Tesny, M N Anderson
Journal archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the national academy of neuropsychologists
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/arclin/acag055.015
URL
Keywords Keywords not found

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