Experimental Investigation of the Time Course Effects of Acute Exercise on False Episodic Memory

Abstract

Previous experimental work suggests that acute exercise may positively influence the accurate recall of past episodic events. However, few studies have examined whether acute exercise also reduces the number of false episodic memories. We evaluated this paradigm in conjunction with an examination of the temporal effects of acute exercise, which have previously been shown to play an important role in subserving episodic memory function. Twenty young adults participated in three experimental visits, including a non-exercise control visit, a visit involving an acute bout (20 min) of moderate-intensity exercise occurring prior to the memory task, and a visit involving an acute bout of exercise occurring during the encoding of the memory task. All visits were counterbalanced and occurred at least 24 h apart. The Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) Paradigm, involving a separate word list trial for each visit, was employed to assess accurate and false episodic memory recall. For each visit, a short-term (immediate recall) and a long-term (25-min delay) memory recall was assessed. For both time points, the visit that involved exercise prior to encoding resulted in better short-term and long-term memory function (F(2) = 11.56, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.38). For both time points, the control visit resulted in a greater number of false memories. These findings suggest that acute moderate-intensity exercise may help to increase the accurate recall of past episodic memories and may help to reduce the rate of false memories.

Experimental Effects of Exercise on Forgetting

“…Additionally, and similar to other studies [33][34][35][36], participants were excluded if they: Self-reported as a daily smoker [37,38] Self-reported being pregnant [39] Exercised within 5 hours of testing [40] Consumed caffeine within 3 hours of testing [41] Had a concussion or head trauma within the past 30 days [42] Took marijuana or other illegal drugs within the past 30 days [43] Were considered a daily alcohol user (>30 drinks/month for women; >60 drinks/month for men) [44]…”

Acute Exercise on Reversal Learning

“…The present study, written as a brief report, aimed to evaluate whether acute exercise can enhance a cognitive-related reversal learning effect. The motivation for this experimentation came from past work demonstrating that acute exercise can enhance the functional connectivity of neurons [32], improve cognitive flexibility [15][16][17], as well as improve memory function [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], all of which are important for cognitive-related learning. In the present experiment, our main findings were as follows.…”

“…Emerging research demonstrates that acute exercise is associated with enhanced memory performance [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Mechanisms of this potential effect are multifold, including, for example, exercise-induced neuronal excitability, transcription factor expression, and growth factor production [8].…”

Effect of Acute Moderate-Intensity Exercise on Autobiographical Episodic Memory and Semantic Memory

“…In alignment with other related experiments [1][2][3][4][5][6], 20 participants were randomized into both groups (N=40). Recruitment occurred via a convenience-based, non-probability sampling approach (classroom announcement and word-of-mouth).…”

“…Of interest to our group is the effects of exercise on memory function, including both episodic memory (recall of past events) and semantic memory (recall of past information not bound to a particular event). Acute exercise has been shown to enhance episodic memory function, particularly the short-term recall of recently encoded information (e.g., word list) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Mechanisms of such an effect have been detailed elsewhere [7][8][9][10], and include, for example, exercise-induced alterations in neuronal excitability and priming (e.g., via CREB [cAMP response element binding] phosphorylation) neuronal networks for engram trace development.…”