Physical Exercise Performed Four Hours after Learning Improves Memory Retention and Increases Hippocampal Pattern Similarity during Retrieval

Abstract

Persistent long-term memory depends on successful stabilization and integration of new memories after initial encoding [1, 2]. This consolidation process is thought to require neuromodulatory factors such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor [3-7]. Without the release of such factors around the time of encoding, memories will decay rapidly [3, 5, 6, 8]. Recent studies have shown that physical exercise acutely stimulates the release of several consolidation-promoting factors in humans [9-14], raising the question of whether physical exercise can be used to improve memory retention [15-17]. Here, we used a single session of physical exercise after learning to exogenously boost memory consolidation and thus long-term memory. Three groups of randomly assigned participants first encoded a set of picture-location associations. Afterward, one group performed exercise immediately, one 4 hr later, and the third did not perform any exercise. Participants otherwise underwent exactly the same procedures to control for potential experimental confounds. Forty-eight hours later, participants returned for a cued-recall test in a magnetic resonance scanner. With this design, we could investigate the impact of acute exercise on memory consolidation and retrieval-related neural processing. We found that performing exercise 4 hr, but not immediately, after encoding improved the retention of picture-location associations compared to the no-exercise control group. Moreover, performing exercise after a delay was associated with increased hippocampal pattern similarity for correct responses during delayed retrieval. Our results suggest that appropriately timed physical exercise can improve long-term memory and highlight the potential of exercise as an intervention in educational and clinical settings.

The Brain and Movement: How Physical Activity Affects the Brain

“…BDNF exerts its eff ects on the cognitive (Alesi et al, 2014) sphere through the abilities described above, and it is thought to infl uence learning (Leckie et al, 2014). Interestingly, an increase in BDNF aft er exercise is positively correlated with cognitive performance; this was also confi rmed recently by Van Dongen, Kersten, Wagner, Morris & Fernández (2016), who demonstrated that physical activity performed four hours aft er learning improves memory effi ciency, showing how the hippocampus improves its effi cacy in memory retention.…”

Acute high‐intensity football games can improve children's inhibitory control and neurophysiological measures of attention

“…For example, several of the aforementioned studies found greater retention levels using a novel visuomotor precision task, whereas the current study did not find any additional benefits of performing a single bout of exercise following a task where visual information was encoded and probed. On the contrary, van Dongen et al demonstrated that acute high‐intensity exercise could improve long‐term retention in a visual memory task, albeit only when performed 4 hours post‐encoding. Other studies have revealed positive effects of both moderate‐ and high‐intensity exercise in a word‐list task when the bout was scheduled prior to the information to be remembered .…”

Adaptive Capacity: An Evolutionary Neuroscience Model Linking Exercise, Cognition, and Brain Health

“…While close timing seems to be key for improvements, a recent study suggests that certain aspects of memory may actually benefit from a time delay [96]. For example, long-term memory assessed using a declarative memory task was improved following a four-hour delay between learning and exercise, compared with no delay [96].…”

“…For example, long-term memory assessed using a declarative memory task was improved following a four-hour delay between learning and exercise, compared with no delay [96]. While this result seems to contradict the predictions of the ACM regarding proximity of exercise and cognitive challenge, it is important to note that cognitively demanding foraging typically takes place over several hours.…”