Effects of an aerobic fitness test on short- and long-term memory in elementary-aged children |
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| Authors: | Jennifer L Etnier Paul M Sprick Jeffrey D Labban Chia-Hao Shih Stephen M Glass Jarod C Vance |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA jletnier@uncg.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3080-0565;3. Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA;4. Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester , Manchester, UK;5. School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA;6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH, USA;7. Department of Physical Therapy, Radford University , Roanoke, VA, USA;8. Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5431-8426 |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Meta-analytic evidence supports that exercise has benefits for short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). However, only three studies with children have tested the differential effects of exercise on STM and LTM. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an aerobic fitness test on STM and LTM and to consider the moderating effects of grade level. Children (7–13 years of age) were randomly assigned to either perform an aerobic fitness test before (exercise prior) or after (exercise post) performing the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) to assess memory. Memory was tested again after approximately 24 hours. There were significant differences in memory performance as a function of grade with 4th and 6th graders consistently outperforming 2nd graders. For learning, Day 1 Retention, 24-hr recall, and Day 2 Retention, the exercise prior group performed better than the exercise post group. It is concluded that an aerobic fitness test performed prior to a declarative memory test benefits LTM as compared to when the aerobic fitness test is performed after the memory test. |
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| Keywords: | Verbal memory exercise physical activity cognition cognitive performance |
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3080-0565;3. Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA;4. Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester , Manchester, UK;5. School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA;6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH, USA;7. Department of Physical Therapy, Radford University , Roanoke, VA, USA;8. Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina Greensboro , Greensboro, NC, USA