Moderate-to-vigorous intensity cycling exercise immediately after visual learning enhances delayed recognition memory performance

Andrew C Venezia; Lauren R Weiss; Kristy A Nielson; J Carson Smith

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102498

Moderate-to-vigorous intensity cycling exercise immediately after visual learning enhances delayed recognition memory performance

Psychol Sport Exerc. 2023 Nov:69:102498. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102498. Epub 2023 Jul 25.

Authors

Andrew C Venezia¹, Lauren R Weiss², Kristy A Nielson³, J Carson Smith²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Human Performance, The University of Scranton, Scranton, PA, USA. Electronic address: Andrew.venezia@scranton.edu.
² Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, USA; Department of Neurology and the Center for Imaging Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, WI, USA.

PMID: 37665933
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102498

Abstract

A single bout of acute aerobic exercise has been shown to improve long-term memory, though it is unclear if exercise before learning or after learning is optimal for memory enhancement. Although some research has demonstrated that exercise before learning is ideal, investigations have consistently shown that acute arousal post-learning is a powerful memory enhancer. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of self-perceived hard cycling before or after learning on recognition memory for emotional and neutral images, and examine the relationship between central noradrenergic activity and memory performance. Seventy-two males and females (18-35 years of age) participated in this between-subjects study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: exercise before learning, exercise after learning, and control. Participants in the exercise groups engaged in 20 min of cycling at a rating of perceived exertion (RPE) of 15 ("hard") on the Borg RPE scale before or after viewing a series of 90 pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images (30 each). Participants in the control group engaged in no exercise before or after image viewing. At several time points throughout the experiment, saliva was collected to measure salivary alpha amylase (sAA), a marker of central noradrenergic activity. One-week later, recognition memory was assessed where participants viewed 180 images (90 new) and had to identify which images were previously viewed. Participants in the exercise after learning group had significantly higher recognition memory compared to the control group, but this was not seen with exercise before learning. sAA was not correlated with memory in any group, though it did increase during exercise. These results demonstrate that acute self-perceived hard cycling post-learning, but not pre-learning, improves recognition memory, though this was unrelated to the exercise-induced increase in central noradrenergic activity as measured in saliva.

Keywords: Acute exercise; Arousal; IAPS; Memory; Salivary alpha-amylase.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arousal
Bicycling
Cognition
Exercise
Female
Humans
Male
Salivary alpha-Amylases*
Spatial Learning*

Substances

Salivary alpha-Amylases