Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-9-2020

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management

First Advisor

Paul Loprinzi

Second Advisor

Alberto del Arco

Third Advisor

Mark Loftin

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Background: Accumulating research suggests that acute exercise may enhance memory function. Limited research, however, has evaluated whether the movement patterns of acute exercise may have a differential effect on memory. Such an effect is plausible, as research demonstrates that open-skilled exercise (e.g., racquetball) may have a greater effect on memory-related neurotrophins (e.g., brain - derived neurotrophic factors) when compared to closed-skilled exercise (e.g. treadmill exercise). A key distinction between open- and closed-skilled exercise is that open-skilled exercises are those that require an individual to react in a dynamic way to a changing, unpredictable environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether prospective memory is differentially influenced from open and closed-skilled acute exercise. Methods: A within-subject design was employed. Participants (M age = 20.6 yrs; 69% female) completed two visits, in a counterbalanced order. The two experimental conditions included open-skilled acute exercise (racquetball) and closed-skilled acute exercise (treadmill exercise), each lasting 30-min at 60% of heart rate reserve. During both experimental conditions, participants completed short and long-term assessments of prospective memory function. Results: There were no significant effects for prospective memory. Conclusion: Prospective memory is not affected by exercise. Modality of exercise, open nor closed, does not play a notable role in the processes of prospective memory or its success.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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