Abstract
Memories consolidate over time, with one consequence being that what we experience after learning can influence what we remember. In these experiments, women who engaged in 5 minutes of low-impact exercise immediately after learning showed better recall for paired associations than did women who engaged in a non-exercise control activity. In experiments 1 and 2, this benefit was apparent in a direct comparison between exercise and non-exercise groups. In experiment 3, it was reflected in a weak, positive correlation between memory performance and exercise-induced change in heart rate. In experiment 4, similar patterns emerged, although they fell short of statistical significance. Such memorial benefits did not emerge among male participants. In experiment 1, half the participants alternatively engaged in an equivalent period of exercise prior to learning, with no benefits for retention of the learned material, suggesting that the memorial benefits of exercise-induced arousal may reflect a specific impact on post-learning processes such as memory consolidation. A meta-analysis across the experiments revealed a reliable benefit of post-learning exercise among women. Variation in the strength of the effect between experiments is consistent with a literature suggesting small but reliable benefits of acute exercise on cognitive performance.
Highlights
One potentially adaptive consequence of the relatively slow time-course of memory consolidation may be that it allows subsequent processes to modulate the strength of a memory trace (Dudai, 2012; McGaugh, 2000; Redondo & Morris, 2011; Squire, Genzel, Wixted, & Morris, 2015)
The present study investigated whether 5 minutes of acute exercise immediately after learning can enhance memory for paired associations among healthy young adults, taking into account such potential factors as sex differences, which have been found to impact stressmodulated memory consolidation (Andreano & Cahill, 2006; Zorawski, Blanding, Kuhn, & LaBar, 2006)
Mood measures Collapsed across men and women, there was no main effect of pre-learning activity on selfreported ratings of change in emotional arousal (exercise, M = +1.18, SD = 1.67; non-exercise, M = +0.50, SD = 1.58; t(33) = 0.1.232, p = 0.23), and the difference in self-reported mood valence was only marginal (exercise, M = −0.06, SD = 1.43; non-exercise, M = +1.00, SD = 1.78; t(33) = 1.929, p = 0.062)
Summary
One potentially adaptive consequence of the relatively slow time-course of memory consolidation may be that it allows subsequent processes to modulate the strength of a memory trace (Dudai, 2012; McGaugh, 2000; Redondo & Morris, 2011; Squire, Genzel, Wixted, & Morris, 2015). Students who watched an emotionally arousing film clip after a classroom lecture performed better on a test on the material 2 weeks later than did students who watched an emotionally neutral clip (Nielson & Arentsen, 2012). Research from both the human and animal literatures converge in support of the notion that stress hormones play a role in solidifying memory of material learned just prior to the arousal induction. The impact of stress hormones on memory consolidation is not uniform across all individuals: a growing number of studies have documented sex differences in the modulatory impact of stress on memory (e.g., Andreano, Arjomandi, & Cahill, 2008; Andreano & Cahill, 2006; Felmingham, Fong, & Bryant, 2012; Jackson et al, 2005; Nielsen, Segal, Worden, Yim, & Cahill, 2013; Wolf et al, 2001)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
