title: Effects of acute exercise on long-term memory.
abstract: In this study, we tested the effect of acute exercise on long-term memory, specifically the timing of exercise relative to the memory challenge. We assessed memory via paragraph recall, in which participants listened to two paragraphs (exposure) and recounted them following a 35-min delay. Participants (n = 48) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: exercise prior to exposure, exercise after exposure, or no-exercise. Exercise consisted of 30 min on a cycle ergometer including 20 min at moderate intensity. Only the exercise prior group recalled significantly more than the control group (p < .05). Differences among the exercise groups failed to reach significance (p = .09). Results indicated that acute exercise positively influenced recall and that exercise timing relative to memory task may have an impact on this effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. jdlabban@uncg.edu
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Labban
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Etnier
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult