Does High-Intensity Exercise Improve Memory?
Exercise can positively impact high interference memory. This is a claim made by researchers in Canada who linked combined exercise and cognitive training to enhanced facial recognition. The study was headed by Heisz, a cognitive neuroscientist who is based at McMaster University. The trial groups included an exercise training group, an exercise and cognitive training group and a control group without any intervention. The participants were all at an average age of 21, and they were both male and female. Their exercise regime was based on the fitness level that had been determined by a previous medical examination. Resistance was increased every week until the participants achieved the required heart rate. The cognitive training was done by being subjected to a challenging computer game whose intensity increased weekly.
Memory improvement was determined by displaying everyday objects to participants through computer images. They were then asked to classify the objects such as a lawn mower into one of three categories. The first category was objected they had seen before, the second was an object similar to those they had seen before, and the third category was objected they had never seen before. High interference was determined by objects that were similar such as a different type of apple well categorized. The result showed that the participants who went through the exercise only training marked improved memory. The results were similar for those who did both the exercise and the cognitive training. The control group did not record any improvement.
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The participants who went through exercise regimes also showed an increase in some proteins and hormones that boost the brain cells regarding function. The design of this study is thought you be within acceptable parameters because of the use of mnemonic similarity task (MST) as a means to determine memory. Heisz is currently working on a different research trial which involves participants of a diverse age group. He hopes that his findings will improve the lives of people living with diseases like dementia that impair the memory. The claims raised by the journalist who wrote this article can bring classified as associational claims. This is because one level of a variable, namely exercise was associated with another level of another variable namely memory.
The study was experimental because the researcher introduced a variable of exercise and an additional variable of cognitive training. These two variables are not naturally occurring so the study cannot be classified as a correlation study. In addition to this, the researcher introduced the change and varied its intensity then recorded its effects. This is impossible in naturally occurring variables. The primary variables in this specific study were exercise or physical training, cognitive training and memory. The key findings were that both exercise and cognitive training improved memory, with specific benefit to high interference memory. This was especially beneficial because exercise alone showed significant improvement in memory.
The findings also showed an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), both of which are known to increase the efficiency of the brain cells. In conclusion, this findings related showed that memory was strengthened by exercise. This study supports other related studies that associate long term memory with chemical and hormonal activity in the brain. Other studies have shown a growth in the hippocampus and other brain cells related to memory. This is directly linked to exercise. The findings are supported by the Theory of Memory Decay that was proposed by Peterson and Peterson in 1959. His theory associated memory loss with lack of rehearsal. However, exercise activates the part of the brain that is responsible for storing long term memory and enhances it. This makes retention possible faster.
The journalist covered the journal article well because he detailed the study as much as he could. This was limited because of the confidentiality that must be accorded to trial participants. He was able to describe the numbers of male and female participants as well as their age group. He was also able to give the exact number of times that the participants were subjected to the variables as three per week. The trial duration of six weeks as well as the weekly memory testing was a well-assembled summary of the activities that were taking place. That being said, his description of the dynamics that governed the overall trial was satisfactory.
The article was hade weightier by quotes from the kinesiology professor cum neuroscientist who was part of the research team. This quotes made the journalists report more credible and also more detailed. Additional quotes from a graduate student in another college confirmed the relevance of this study as well as the effective data collection methods. The journalist was quick to prompt the researcher about future tests which was a good indicator that the test was valid.
The journalist may have failed in only one aspect. His description of the exercise regime was too vague. This is despite the fact that determining the scope of exercise would have been a helpful indicator of the replication of the test. A detailed description of the general exercise regime would have been crucial in personally implementing the findings. Plus descriptions only informed the reader that exercise or workout machines were involved and that the heart rate needed to bring raised. In a nutshell, the journalist covered the journal article well, but he could have done better in the exercise and the cognitive training descriptions.
Reference
Evans, C.(2018)Does High-Intensity Exercise Improve Memory?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainstorm/201802/does-high-intensity-exercise-improve-memory
