The effects of chronic and acute physical activity on working memory performance in healthy participants: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding how physical activity (PA) influences cognitive function in populations with cognitive impairments, such as dementia, is an increasingly studied topic yielding numerous published systematic reviews. In contrast, however, there appears to be less interest in examining associations between PA and cognition in cognitively healthy individuals. Therefore, the objective of this review was to evaluate and synthesize randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies that investigated the effects of both chronic and acute PA on working memory performance (WMP) in physically and cognitively healthy individuals.MethodsFollowing the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic review of studies published between August 2009 and December 2016 was performed on RCTs investigating the effects of chronic and acute PA on WMP with healthy participants as the sample populations. Searches were conducted in Annual Reviews, ProQuest, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science. Main inclusion criteria stipulated (1) healthy sample populations, (2) PA interventions, (3) WMP as an outcome, and (4) RCT designs. Descriptive statistics included cohort and intervention characteristics and a risk of bias assessment. Analytical statistics included meta-analyses and moderation analyses.ResultsFrom 7345 non-duplicates, 15 studies (eight chronic PA and seven acute PA studies) met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated. Overall, there was noticeable variance between both cohort and intervention characteristics. Sample populations ranged from primary school children to retirement community members with PA ranging from cycling to yoga. The majority of studies were characterized by “low” or “unclear” risk of selection, performance, detection, attrition, reporting, or other biases. Meta-analysis of chronic PA revealed a significant, small effect size while analysis of acute PA revealed a non-significant, trivial result. Age and intensity were significant moderators while allocation concealment, blinding, and intervention length were not.ConclusionsChronic PA can significantly improve WMP while acute PA cannot. The limiting factors for acute PA studies point to the diversity of working memory instruments utilized, unequal sample sizes between studies, and the sample age groups. Large-scale, high-quality RCTs are needed in order to provide generalizable and more powerful analysis between PA and WMP in a systematic approach.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-017-0514-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Impact of a structured, group-based running programme on clinical, cognitive and social function in youth and adults with complex mood disorders: a 12-week pilot study

“…The neurocognitive improvements observed here are consistent with two recently published meta-analyses in healthy humans reporting small but significant effects of chronic exercise on working memory53 and attention and processing speed 52. Notably, both meta-analyses reported that older adults were more likely to show improvement, consistent with normal age-related decline.…”

“…Further, a recent meta-analysis examining exercise and cognitive function in adults with depression reported no cognitive improvements across aerobic, anaerobic and mind–body interventions (eg, yoga) 59. Indeed, literature reviews reveal considerable variability across studies investigating the impact of exercise on cognitive function outcomes (see Guiney and Machado,60 and Diamond61), possibly related to methodological differences across exercise programmes, clinical and demographic factors of participants, and neurocognitive assessment measures 52 53 59. It is also noteworthy that the vast majority of research on exercise and cognitive functioning has been done in ageing samples, usually to investigate the effects of cognitive decline62; there is little information on the impact of exercise on memory in healthy young and middle-aged adults for comparison purposes.…”

Effects of Mind‐Body Exercises on Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Meta‐Analysis

“…Previous meta‐analyses mostly focused on one type of mind‐body exercise, such as tai chi, yoga, or dance, for cognitive functions . Other reviews explored physical exercise including aerobic, resistance exercise, tai chi, or yoga for preventing and addressing cognitive impairment in older adults . Although these reviews involved mind‐body exercise as a component, the studies mainly focused on aerobic and resistance exercise, which might increase the confounding factors and cannot comprehensively and accurately assess the effect of mind‐body exercises on cognitive functions.…”

“…[8][9][10]51 Other reviews explored physical exercise including aerobic, resistance exercise, tai chi, or yoga for preventing and addressing cognitive impairment in older adults. [52][53][54] Although these reviews involved mind-body exercise as a component, the studies mainly focused on aerobic and resistance exercise, which might increase the confounding factors and cannot comprehensively and accurately assess the effect of mind-body exercises on cognitive functions. Therefore, our study paid more attention to the overall effects of mind-body exercise and comprehensively evaluated cognitive performance on cognitive intact and cognitive impairment in older adults, which was different from what was found in previous studies.…”

Exercise and Retrieval-Induced Forgetting

“…It would also be of interest to evaluate open (e.g., badminton) versus closed (walking) skilled exercises on RIF, as recent work suggests that the type of exercise (open vs. closed) may have a unique effect on markers of synaptic plasticity as well as on behavioral measures of executive control [15]. Additionally, recent work suggests that chronic exercise, when compared to acute exercise, may have a greater effect on executive control [40]. Consequently, it would be useful for future work on this paradigm to examine the effects of acute and chronic exercise on RIF.…”