Impaired probabilistic reversal learning in anxiety: Evidence from behavioral and ERP findings

BACKGROUND: Reversal learning reflects an individual’s capacity to adapt to a dynamic environment with changing stimulus–reward contingencies. This study focuses on the potential influence of anxiety on reversal learning skills. METHODS: We asked 40 participants with a high level of trait anxiety (HTA) and 40 counterparts with a low anxiety level (LTA) to finish a probabilistic reversal learning task with event-related potential (ERP) recording, during which stimulus–reward contingencies are reversed after players have learned the optimal choice. RESULTS: We found that compared to their LTA counterparts, the HTA participants showed worse learning performance and were less likely to make lose-shift choices. The FRN amplitude might help interpret these behavioral results, which is suggested to be associated with punishment sensitivity and was positively correlated with the number of lose-shift in this study. Seeing that anxiety level predicted the FRN amplitude for lose-shift, we explain that anxious individuals’ inflexible behavioral responses to losses are due to their impaired sensitivity to negative feedback. CONCLUSIONS: A higher level of anxiety is associated with weaker reversal learning performance, possibly because of abnormal sensitivity to negative outcomes. These findings have implications for the understanding of behavioral symptoms in anxiety.