If you're looking for a new memory-boosting
brain hack, Dutch researchers have one that
doesn't even involve experimental pills or
neural implants. All you'll need is a treadmill
or a pair of running shoes.
Dutch researchers at Radboud University
Medical Center conducted a 72-person study
on exercise and memory consolidation. Specifically,
we're talking aerobic exercise such as running
and -- of all the different forms of human
memory -- declarative or explicit memory,
a form of long-term memory that relates to
facts and verbal knowledge. They split the
subjects into three groups and each began
the experiment with a 40-minute learning session,
during which they absorbed 90 picture-location
associations. Afterwards, they all took a
baseline memory test on the material. One
group immediately launched into a 35-minute
spin class and another waited four hours before
hitting the stationary bikes. The third group
just sat on their keisters. Forty-eight hours
later, the researchers called everyone back
in, tested their knowledge retention and analyzed
their brains with a little MRI. Those who
exercised 4 hours after learning showed a
marked advantage on the second memory test.
The study, published in the journal
Current Biology, stresses that there's much
we don't know here. We don’t' know why or
how delayed exercise impacts memory consolidation
-- and indeed, the molecular mechanisms of
consolidation are poorly understood. And 4
hours is just an experimental time frame -- the
exact, effective time frame for the delayed
exercise boost is unknown. Plus, again, we're
talking about just one of several memory types
here. While this study focused on declarative
memory tasks, a handful of previous studies
observed an immediate post-exercise boost
in procedural memory tasks. If future studies
support these findings, we might gain new
insight on the benefits of physical education
classes. But if nothing else, these findings
get to drive home the fact that the human
brain is not a digital computer and memory
is not a comprehensive file of imputed data.
The brain is a hyper computer, memories are
malleable and new information must be consolidated
via a neurochemical process.
But hey, YOU have access to knowledge and
exercise, so why don't you try this approach out for
yourself and report your findings. And if you crave
more scientific insights into your daily life,
be sure to visit now.howstuffworks.com each
and every day.
