Short-Term Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Executive Processing, Memory, and Emotion

Abstract

1875 Short-term aerobic exercise is known to enhance information processing speed. It is not known if exercise bouts differentially influence select components of cognition (executive processes and memory) and associated emotional states. PURPOSE: To determine whether a submaximal aerobic exercise bouts affects mental processes that influence both speed of processing and learning. METHODS: Twenty-two healthy college students (12 men, age = 21.8 ± 1.7 yrs; 10 women, age = 21.3 ± 2.06 yrs) performed a test of executive processing (Task-Switching test, TS) and short-term memory (Brown-Peterson test, BP) before and after exercise or rest. The exercise consisted of 30 min of cycling at 60%V.O2max with a 5-min warm-up and cool-down. Emotional reactivity to the mental demands of the two cognitive tests was assessed via the NASA-Task Load Index. RESULTS: Response times during the TS decreased significantly following both exercise and rest interventions (p<0.01). The number of items recalled during the BP memory test was not influenced by exercise. The workload associated with the BP was significantly higher than with the TS (p<0.01). Emotional reactivity to the BP memory test declined following both exercise and rest (p<0.05). Compared to TS, BP was perceived as more mentally demanding (p<0.001), temporally demanding (p<0.05), frustrating (p<0.05), and required more effort to perform, (p<0.001). Participants rated both the BP and the TS to be less frustrating following exercise, but not after rest (p<0.05). Women's ratings of their perceived level of performance during both cognitive tests were significantly lower than were men's ratings (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: A single bout of aerobic exercise and a rest period resulted in comparable facilitation of information processing speed; whereas, neither treatment influenced short-term memory processes. Exercise and rest periods differentially affected emotional reactivity. Supported by the Office of Research Development & Outreach, College of Education, University of Georgia.