Emotional working memory training reduces rumination and alters the EEG microstate in anxious individuals

Rumination is an important etiological factor of anxiety pathology, with its mechanism related to the deficit of working memory. The current study examined whether working memory training (WM-T) and emotional working memory training (EWM-T) could reduce rumination in anxious individuals. The participants with high trait anxiety underwent 21 days of mobile applications-based WM-T (n = 34), EWM-T (n = 36) or placebo control (n = 36), with questionnaires, cognitive tasks, and resting electroencephalogram (EEG) as the pre-post-test indicators. The results revealed that two training groups obtained comparable operation span increases (WM-T: d = 0.53; EWM-T: d = 0.65), updating improvement (WM-T: d = 0.43; EWM-T: d = 0.60) and shifting improvement (WM-T: d = 0.49; EWM-T: d = 0.72). Furthermore, compared to the control group, the EWM-T showed significant self-reported rumination reduction (d = 0.69), increased inhibition ability (d = 0.72), as well as modification of resting EEG microstate C parameters (Duration C: d = 0.42, Coverage C: d = 0.39), which were closely related to rumination level (r ~ 0.4). The WM-T group also showed the potential to reduced self-reported rumination (d = 0.45), but with the absence of the observable inhibition improvement and resting EEG changes. The correlation analysis suggested that the emotional benefits of WM-T depending more on improved updating and shifting, and that of EWM-T depending more on improved inhibition ability. The advantage to add emotional distractions into general working memory training for targeting rumination related anxiety has been discussed.