TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kovacs, Christopher 
AU  - Bories, Tamara 
PY  - 2010
TI  - Effects of Increased Physiological Arousal on Upper Extremity Reaction and Movement Times in Healthy Young Adults
JF  - Neuroscience International
VL  - 1
IS  - 2
DO  - 10.3844/amjnsp.2010.28.33
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/amjnsp.2010.28.33
AB  - Problem statement: Research has suggested that examining attentional demands during
functional tasks is an emergent area of study. Increased arousal may represent an attentional demand,
resulting in impaired motor functioning in tasks that require fast reaction and movement times.
Approach: This study examined the effects of a non-specific stressor and the resultant physiological
arousal on upper extremity functional measures of motor performance. Forty-four young adult
participants (X age = 20.6) were randomly assigned to either a stress/arousal group or non-stress
control group. Arousal was altered through the use of the Stroop Color Word Task and mental
subtraction tasks. Results: Paired-sample analyses revealed significant differences (p<.037) from pre
to post test for measures of reaction time in the stress group. No significant differences were seen for
measures of movement time (p<.095) in the stress group. Conclusion: These results suggest that
increased levels of physiological arousal may alter reaction time, movement time and resultant motor
functioning in healthy young adults. This increase in physiological arousal may be the result of nonspecific
external stressors and have significant implications for movement production accuracy in
multiple populations, including older adults. Further research examining this effect in older adults is
ongoing.