PROCESSING EFFICIENCY AND DISTRACTIONS

How anxiety reduces working memory capacity.

Competitive anxiety directly affects the efficiency with which the brain processes information.

In calm situations, the athlete can scan the environment, process multiple signals, and make optimal decisions.

However, under stress, anxiety consumes working memory resources, reducing the bandwidth available for relevant tasks.

This translates into an inability to read the game correctly or anticipate the opponent's actions.

A point guard in basketball, in a moment of low pressure, can see the position of his four teammates and the opposing defense simultaneously to choose the best pass.

But if anxiety flares up in the final seconds, his processing becomes inefficient; his brain stops processing the big picture and he may develop "tunnel vision," fixating only on the defender in front of him or the clock, losing sight of an unmarked teammate under the rim. Anxiety hijacks the ability for tactical analysis.

The role of the hippocampus in threat detection

At the neurobiological level, the interaction between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex is key. The hippocampus acts as a threat detector.

When the athlete perceives danger (fear of failure, social pressure), the hippocampus becomes hyperactive, diverting attention to threatening stimuli rather than to task goals.

The prefrontal cortex, responsible for rational decision making, is overridden by this survival response. Consider a race car driver.

His prefrontal cortex should be focused on the optimal racing line and braking points.

However, if his hippocampus detects excessive "threat" from the proximity of another car or fear of an accident, his attention will be compulsively diverted to the rearview mirrors or retaining walls (the threat), rather than to the clear track (the solution), paradoxically increasing the likelihood of making a mistake by losing focus on efficient driving.

Summary

Competitive anxiety drastically reduces mental processing efficiency. Stress consumes working memory resources, decreasing the ability to read the game and make complex tactical decisions.

Under pressure, the brain loses global vision and develops "tunnel vision". Attention is compulsively fixed on threats or irrelevant elements, preventing the athlete from perceiving clear solutions in the environment.

At the brain level, the hippocampus acts by detecting dangers and diverting attention to them. This overrides the prefrontal cortex in charge of logic, prioritizing survival responses over rational sport performance.