Using Differing Levels of Physical Activity as a Context Cue for Memory

The current study aimed to investigate the use of physical activity as a context cue for object location memory. The study included 49 undergraduate students who were asked to encode and recall a grid of 14 objects under three different physical activity conditions: rest, rolling a ping-pong ball, and pedaling on an exercise bike. It was expected that participants engaging in matching physical activity contexts at encoding and recall would have significantly higher rates of recall for object locations when compared to participants in the non-matching physical activity contexts. Results did not support my hypothesis as there was no evidence of a context effect of physical activity on object location memory. However, there was a significant advantage for participants identifying as White/Caucasian in the task over participants identifying as African American/Black. The failure to find a significant context effect is discussed in terms of an interference effect

Cognitive function of older adults engaging in physical activity

Background: Physical activity can be classified as open-skilled or closed-skilled. Open-skilled physical activity, such as tennis, require participants to perform within a dynamic setting and respond to unpredictable and frequent environmental changes throughout the activity. Closed-skilled types of physical activity, such as swimming, are predictable and self-directed. However, the benefits of cognitive function in these two types of physical activities to older adults are unknown. This study examined the effects of participation in open- and closed-skilled physical activity on the cognitive function of older adults. Methods: The study recruited a total of 61 participants aged 65 years and over. Participant recruitment was achieved by distributing flyers asking for volunteers in various sports venues. Participants self-reported to be without medical conditions affecting their physical and cognitive function. All participants underwent a two-hour assessment session involving the completion of seven standardised cognitive function assessments, which were used to assess a range of cognitive function. Results: Overall mean scores across all of the assessments showed superior performance for the open- or closed-skilled participants when compared with the no-physical-activity group. The results of 61 adults who participated in this study showed that closed-skilled physical activity was associated with better selective attention and visuospatial function while open-skilled physical activity was associated with better inhibition and cognitive flexibility function. No significant difference in self-regulation ability was found between the open- or closed-skilled groups. Conclusions: Open-skilled physical activity was associated with better inhibition, visual tracking, and cognitive flexibility while closed-skilled physical activity was associated with better selective attention and visuospatial perception. The findings have important practical implications for the health and quality of life of ageing populations, knowing which particular types of physical activity might affect the cognitive function