Effects of acute exercise on memory: Considerations of exercise intensity, post-exercise recovery period and aerobic endurance

• Published in: Memory & cognition Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 1011 - 1026
• Main Authors: Loprinzi, Paul D., Roig, Marc, Tomporowski, Phillip D., Javadi, Amir-Homayoun, Kelemen, William L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive Psychology; Exercise; Exercise intensity; Humans; Influence; Memory; Memory, Episodic; Memory, Long-Term; Mental Recall; Mental task performance; Physical fitness; Psychology; Systematic review; Young Adult; Physical activity; Memory context; Cognition
• ISSN: 0090-502X; 1532-5946; 1532-5946
• DOI: 10.3758/s13421-022-01373-4

Accumulating research demonstrates that acute exercise can enhance long-term episodic memory. However, it is unclear if there is an intensity-specific effect of acute exercise on long-term episodic memory function and whether this is influenced by the post-exercise recovery period, which was the primary objective of this experiment. Another uncertainty in the literature is whether aerobic endurance influences the interaction between exercise intensity and post-exercise recovery period on long-term episodic memory function, which was a secondary objective of this study. With exercise intensity and post-exercise recovery period occurring as within-subject factors, and fitness as a between-subject factor, 59 participants (M age = 20 years) completed 12 primary laboratory visits. These visits included a 20-min bout of exercise (Control, Moderate, and Vigorous), followed by a recovery period (1, 5, 10, and 15 min) and then a word-list episodic memory task, involving an encoding phase and two long-term recall assessments (20-min and 24-h delayed recall). The primary finding from this experiment was that moderate and vigorous-intensity exercise improved memory function when compared to a non-exercise control. A secondary finding was that individuals with higher levels of aerobic endurance, compared to their lesser fit counterparts, had greater memory performance after exercise (moderate or vigorous) when compared to after a control condition. Additionally, individuals with higher levels of aerobic endurance, compared to their lesser fit counterparts, generally performed better on the memory task with longer post-exercise recovery periods. Future research should carefully consider these parameters when evaluating the effects of acute exercise on long-term episodic memory.