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Abstract
The present dissertation is aimed to determine whether an acute bout of moderate intensity physical activity improves young adults’ attention, episodic, and object location memory. This dissertation is also aimed to determine if attention mediates the relationship between physical activity and long-term memory. Finally, this dissertation is aimed at elucidating the mechanisms by which the complexity of physical activity influences how learning. There is a growing interest in better understating how physical activity impacts how well information is learned and retained over time. However, many questions remain unanswered in regard to this relationship. Therefore, the collective aims of the present dissertation are to provide a better understanding of the intricate relationship between physical activity, attention, and long-term episodic memory. The first study of this dissertation is a systematic review and meta-analysis that quantitatively summarizes the current literature examining the impact of acute physical activity on long-term episodic memory. The second experiment of this dissertation is a randomized controlled trial that assesses the effect of an acute bout of physical activity on young adults’ attention and long-term memory.
The first study, a systematic review and meta-analysis, identified and quantitatively summarized 48 studies meeting inclusion criteria assessing the impact of acute bouts of exercise on episodic memory. Studies were categorized based on their temporal association with learning as occurring either before, during, or after the encoding of information. The results of the systematic review and meta-analysis provided novel evidence that exercise before encoding improved memory, affecting free-recall memory more so than recognition and cued-recall memory. Exercise after encoding improved memory as well, affecting recognition memory more so than free-recall and cued-recall memory. Exercise during encoding did not influence memory. This systematic review and meta-analysis expanded upon current evidence that acute exercise in beneficial for long-term memory but provided novel evidence for the selective rather than universal effects of exercise on long-term episodic memory. Therefore, these findings led to the second experiment that examined the effects of an acute bout of physical activity occurring prior to encoding on attention and long-term episodic memory. The second experiment of the present dissertation, a randomized, controlled trial, sought to assess the effect of an acute bout of physical activity on young adults’ attention and long-term episodic memory (assessed via free-recall, recognition, and object location memory tests). A sample of 60 college-aged students (M_age=20.25 ±1.73 years;male=21,female=39) were randomly assigned to one of three groups; simple physical activity, complex physical activity, or control and engaged in either a 15-minutes physical activity protocol or seated rest. Participants were then assessed on tests of attention and long-term memory. The long-term memory test was administered immediately, 24-hours, and 7-days after encoding. Analyses for free-recall memory revealed a main effect for Group, F(2, 57) = 8.785, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.236, and Time, F(1.82, 57) = 6.645, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.104. Participants who completed a complex bout of physical activity demonstrated greater and more durable free-recall memory compared to simple and control conditions. All other results were non-significant. In conclusion, with respect to free-recall memory, performing mentally engaging acute bouts of physical activity prior to learning novel material results in the least amount of information decayed across time.
The first study, a systematic review and meta-analysis, identified and quantitatively summarized 48 studies meeting inclusion criteria assessing the impact of acute bouts of exercise on episodic memory. Studies were categorized based on their temporal association with learning as occurring either before, during, or after the encoding of information. The results of the systematic review and meta-analysis provided novel evidence that exercise before encoding improved memory, affecting free-recall memory more so than recognition and cued-recall memory. Exercise after encoding improved memory as well, affecting recognition memory more so than free-recall and cued-recall memory. Exercise during encoding did not influence memory. This systematic review and meta-analysis expanded upon current evidence that acute exercise in beneficial for long-term memory but provided novel evidence for the selective rather than universal effects of exercise on long-term episodic memory. Therefore, these findings led to the second experiment that examined the effects of an acute bout of physical activity occurring prior to encoding on attention and long-term episodic memory. The second experiment of the present dissertation, a randomized, controlled trial, sought to assess the effect of an acute bout of physical activity on young adults’ attention and long-term episodic memory (assessed via free-recall, recognition, and object location memory tests). A sample of 60 college-aged students (M_age=20.25 ±1.73 years;male=21,female=39) were randomly assigned to one of three groups; simple physical activity, complex physical activity, or control and engaged in either a 15-minutes physical activity protocol or seated rest. Participants were then assessed on tests of attention and long-term memory. The long-term memory test was administered immediately, 24-hours, and 7-days after encoding. Analyses for free-recall memory revealed a main effect for Group, F(2, 57) = 8.785, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.236, and Time, F(1.82, 57) = 6.645, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.104. Participants who completed a complex bout of physical activity demonstrated greater and more durable free-recall memory compared to simple and control conditions. All other results were non-significant. In conclusion, with respect to free-recall memory, performing mentally engaging acute bouts of physical activity prior to learning novel material results in the least amount of information decayed across time.