Effects of the Timing of Acute Exercise and Movement Complexity on Young Adults' Psychomotor Learning.

The role of acute bouts of exercise on young adults' psychomotor learning was assessed in two experiments. In Experiment 1, 10 min of exercise performed immediately following pursuit-rotor training improved retention of tracking movements, but only when measured 7 days following encoding and only under exercise conditions that required complex decisions. In Experiment 2, 10 min of exercise performed immediately prior to encoding resulted in a retention pattern similar to that seen in Experiment 1; however, performance did not differ significantly between exercise and control groups.

Effects of Isometric Hand-Grip Muscle Contraction on Young Adults' Free Recall and Recognition Memory.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if physical arousal produced by isometric hand-dynamometer contraction performed during word-list learning affects young adults' free recall or recognition memory.

Method: Twenty-four young adults (12 female; M = 22 years) were presented with 4 20-item word lists. Moderate arousal was induced in 12 adults by an initial 30-s maximal hand-dynamometer squeeze with force productions of 50% maximum; low arousal was induced in 12 adults by an initial 1-s maximal dynamometer squeeze with force production of 10% maximum during learning.

Mental engagement during cognitive and psychomotor tasks: Effects of task type, processing demands, and practice.

Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) are hypothesized to provide indices of mental engagement (ME). HRV and perceived workload were measured to determine whether ME is moderated by task type, processing demands, and practice. Twenty four (22±3yrs.

The Effects of Acute Exercise on Memory and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).

Acute exercise benefits cognition, and some evidence suggests that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a role in this effect. The purpose of this study was to explore the dose-response relationship between exercise intensity, memory, and BDNF. Young adults completed 3 exercise sessions at different intensities relative to ventilator threshold (Vt) (VO, Vt - 20%, Vt + 20%).