Physical Activity Is Associated with Reduced Implicit Learning but Enhanced Relational Memory and Executive Functioning in Young Adults.

ABSTRACT: Accumulating evidence suggests that physical activity improves explicit memory and executive cognitive functioning at the extreme ends of the lifespan (i.e., in older adults and children). However, it is unknown whether these associations hold for younger adults who are considered to be in their cognitive prime, or for implicit cognitive functions that do not depend on motor sequencing. Here we report the results of a study in which we examine the relationship between objectively measured physical activity and (1) explicit relational memory, (2) executive control, and (3) implicit probabilistic sequence learning in a sample of healthy, college-aged adults. The main finding was that physical activity was positively associated with explicit relational memory and executive control (replicatin

SUBMITTER: Stillman CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5008769 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature