Date of Award
1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Health and Kinesiology
First Advisor
Paul D. Loprinzi
Second Advisor
Jeremy Loenneke
Third Advisor
Matthew Jessee
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Acute exercise has been shown to benefit memory performance. Investigations into the mechanisms of this effect have not been widely conducted; top-down attentional performance, measured by attention switching and later memory performance during an attention switching task, is evaluated here as a potential mechanism. Importantly, cognitive performance on these attention switching tasks, coupled with electroencephalogram (EEG) data collection, have not been reported. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate top-down attention, and its neural correlates, as a potential mechanism in the exercise and memory relationship. Eighty-five young healthy adults participated in a three-visit, within-subjects experiment. The first visit included a maximal exercise test and familiarization visit, with the subsequent visits involving 30-minutes of either light-intensity (serving as an active control condition) or moderate-intensity exercise, followed by the completion of the attention switching paradigm, with EEG acquisition, and memory test afterwards. The task utilized herein evaluates top-down attention’s contribution to later memory performance via an attended item (i.e., task relevant) and unattended item (i.e., task-irrelevant) presented simultaneously, as well as the cognitive efficiency (i.e., attention switching relative to cognitive load) of switching between items on subsequent trials. Results showed that reaction time, a surrogate measure of selective attention, was not different between conditions; however, acute, moderate-intensity exercise improved top-down attentional suppression performance, as demonstrated by the decrease in the unattended item rating on increased cognitive load trials. There were no differences in neuroelectric data between the conditions, demonstrated by null findings in comparison of the event-related potential (ERP) time windows of interest (i.e., 600-900 ms window of cue-locked ERP waveforms, 900-1200 ms window of stimulus-locked ERP waveforms). Additionally, there was no evidence of any mediating effects of top-down attention on memory performance. Acute exercise is suggestive to be beneficial for attention switching performance, but future work is warranted for additional evaluations of attention as a mechanism in the exercise and memory relationship.
Recommended Citation
Patrick, Zakary, "Attention as a Mechanism in the Exercise and Memory Relationship" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3350.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3350