Effects of aerobic exercise training, age, and physical fitness on memory-search performance

We investigated the effects of exercise training on memory performance. One group of 13 men (M = 42.92 years of age) participated in supervised aerobic exercise (jogging) three times a week for 12 weeks. A second group of 15 men (M = 43.67 years of age) performed anaerobic exercise (strength training) for the same period of time. Subjects' reaction time (RT) performance in a memory-search task was assessed both before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) the 12 weeks of exercise training. Results indicated that there was no significant change in memory-search performance over time as a function of exercise training. Analyses of the Time 2 RTs demonstrated that aspects of memory-search performance were related significantly both to subjects' initial (Time 1) level of fitness and to age, but not to the amount of change in fitness associated with aerobic exercise training over this 12-week duration in this age group.     

Social regulation and individual cognitive function: Effects of individuation on cognitive performance

Numerous experiments have illustrated the intervention of social regulations in individual cognitive functioning, applying such concepts as social co-ordination, socio-cognitive conflict and social marking. Two experiments, involving secondary school pupils are presented within this general framework. The first tests the hypothesis that individual cognitive functioning, highlighted in a task requiring mobilization of knowledge learned to that end, can under certain conditions be regulated by experimentally induced social resources. The second experiment uses the same paradigm to compare the information processing, under anonymous versus individuated conditions, of pupils respectively with successful and unsuccessful academic histories. The results of both experiments indicate that cognitive functioning is strongly influenced by the social situations created within the experimental settings. These results are discussed in terms of the social meta systems which may intervene in cognitive processes.     

Familiarisation of novice and experienced treadmill users during a running session: Group specific evidence,time and individual patterns

The elimination of familiarisation effects is a recurring topic in biomechanical testing during treadmill running among different experience levels. The two aims of this study were (i) to calculate familiarisation times of novice and experienced treadmill runners on a group level and (ii) to examine individual familiarisation patterns in order to classify those with similar characteristics. Twenty runners participated in this study by performing a treadmill running session with 3D motion capture. Familiarisation times for 9 kinematic variables among both groups (novices and experienced treadmill runners) were statistically analysed. Additionally a qualitative clustering process (supported by quantitative criteria) provided individual familiarisation patterns for all participants and variables. Group mean familiarisation times were inconsistent across variables (ranging from 3 to 14 min), with no general tendency for decreased familiarisation time in experienced compared to novice treadmill runners. The analysis of individual familiarisation patterns revealed that 30.5% were not stable after 15 min. Substantial changes compared to the initial state were observed in data sets with detected familiarisation pattern. Treadmill running experience does not affect familiarisation patterns since this process is highly individual and variable-specific. Consequently, no generalised familiarisation time can be provided and the elimination of familiarisation in biomechanical testing a priori does not seem to be possible in the first 15 min for approximately one third of the individual patterns studied. In conclusion, the common practice of collecting data subsequent to a pre-defined generalised familiarisation time ought to be replaced by measurements at several points in time during trials. This required procedure would allow for checking familiarisation patterns and fluctuations in order to exclude inappropriate data sets in future treadmill studies.     

Effects of reward on delayed reaction time task performance of hyperactive children

This experiment was designed to investigate the effects of continuous, partial, and noncontingent schedules of reward, as well as the withdrawal of rewards, on the performance of hyperactive and normal control children on a delayed reaction time task. Although noncontingent reward resulted in faster reaction times for control subjects, performance of hyperactives deteriorated under noncontingent reward and improved when it was withdrawn. Also, reaction times of controls during extinction remained superior to baseline, whereas performance of hyperactives returned to baseline level. It was suggested that these and other findings reviewed point to an unusual sensitivity to rewards in hyperactive children.     

急性有氧运动对认知表现的影响

急性有氧运动是持续时间在10~60分钟的一次有氧运动。急性有氧运动可暂时性地改变感觉敏感度、记忆、执行功能等认知功能, 但其对不同认知功能的影响效果存在差异, 干预结果受到个体体适能水平、运动强度和运动类型等因素的调节。目前用于解释急性有氧运动影响认知表现的理论有唤醒理论、前额叶功能衰退理论、神经内分泌模型和神经营养因子假说。未来的研究应加强对急性运动发挥作用机制的探究, 更多关注身心运动、团体运动等不同运动形式的干预效果, 以期为长期“运动处方”的开具提供依据。     

Effects of post-encoding wakeful rest and study time on long-term memory performance

Recent work shows that post-encoding wakeful rest, in contrast to a cognitive task delay period, supports memory performance. The present study aimed at investigating whether study time modulates the impact of post-encoding rest on delayed memory performance. Healthy young adults were allocated to one of two “study time” groups (fixed-paced vs. self-paced). Participants encoded two word lists. After immediate recall of one word list, participants wakefully rested for 8?min, after the other, they performed a visual problem solving task. A delayed recall took place at the end of the experimental session (Experiment 1) and again after 7 days (Experiment 1?+?2). We found that participants in the self-paced group outperformed those in the fixed-paced group. In Experiment 1, participants showed higher memory performances after 7 days in the resting condition independent of study time. No significant differences between post-encoding (rest vs. problem solving) and study time conditions were found in Experiment 2. Combined analyses of both experiments revealed that an additional recall (Experiment 1) supported memory retention in both post-encoding conditions. Our findings suggest that resting is beneficial over the long term, but only when the encoded information is repeatedly retrieved at the end of a learning session.     

Effects of aerobic exercise on anxiety sensitivity

Anxiety sensitivity is a known precursor to panic attacks and panic disorder, and involves the misinterpretation of anxiety-related sensations. Aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce generalized anxiety, and may also reduce anxiety sensitivity through exposure to feared physiological sensations. Accordingly, 54 participants with elevated anxiety sensitivity scores completed six 20-min treadmill exercise sessions at either a high-intensity aerobic ( n = 29 ) or low-intensity ( n = 25 ) level. Self-ratings of anxiety sensitivity, fear of physiological sensations associated with anxiety, and generalized anxiety were obtained at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and one-week follow-up. Results indicated that both high- and low-intensity exercise reduced anxiety sensitivity. However, high-intensity exercise caused more rapid reductions in a global measure of anxiety sensitivity and produced more treatment responders than low-intensity exercise. Only high-intensity exercise reduced fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Influence of individual differences in temporal sensitivity on timing performance

This research was designed to examine the consistency of individual differences in timing. Subjects were tested initially on a temporal-signal-detection task. In a series of trials, subjects judged whether a stimulus figure was displayed for either 12 s or greater than 12 s. Task performance was used to classify the subjects into groups with high or low temporal sensitivity (d'). Later, the subjects were tested on two classic time-judgment tasks. In a temporal-interference task, subjects reproduced intervals of 8-16 s during which they had rehearsed 0, 3, or 7 digits. Absolute error in time judgments increased linearly as a function of task demands. However, subjects with low temporal sensitivity made more error under all conditions compared with those with high sensitivity. In an isochronous-tapping task, subjects produced a series of 2-s and 5-s intervals. The low-temporal-sensitivity group produced more variable and inaccurate responses than the high-sensitivity group. The results demonstrate cross-situational consistency in timing performance across different tasks, time-judgment methods, and stimulus durations.     

Effects of running and other activities on moods

The purpose of this study was to compare the moods and mood variations of runners to those of aerobic dancers, weight-lifters, and nonexercising controls. The subjects, 70 undergraduates, were participants in a jogging and conditioning, a weight training, an aerobic dance, or an introductory psychology class. A time-series design was used in which all participants completed eight Profile of Mood State questionnaires over a 6-hr. period that centered on the time of the class. Four questionnaires were completed during the second week of classes and the other four about midsemester, approximately 6 wk. later. Runners had a significantly more positive mood profile than nonexercisers and a somewhat more positive one than weight-lifters, but those of runners and aerobic dancers were similar. Changes in moods across time in relation to activity and across semester suggest that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, helps the regular participant not only to cope with stress but also to have a generally more positive feeling of well-being.     

Reaction time unchanged in older women following aerobic training

The effect of aerobic exercise on reaction time in older women was investigated. 14 women (M age = 65 yr.) were carefully screened for health status and lifestyle, then assigned to a random order of the exercise and control groups (ns = 7). Pre- and posttraining tests of aerobic capacity, simple reaction time, and choice reaction time were administered. The exercise group rode a stationary bicycle ergometer for 8 consecutive weeks for 3 35- to 40-min. sessions per week. There were no significant pretraining differences between groups on simple reaction time, choice reaction time, or estimated VO2max. No posttraining differences for simple and choice reaction time were found even though the exercise group had a significantly higher VO2max than the controls. Contrary to some other findings, the data indicate that reaction time may be independent of aerobic training in healthy older women.     

Developmental and individual differences in performance on phonological synthesis tasks

This study was conducted in order to examine the role of individual differences in working memory and lexical access in accounting for age and reading skill related differences in performance on phonological synthesis tasks. The performance of 28 kindergarten, first-, and second-grade children with normal reading skills, as well as that of 28 reading-disabled second graders, was compared under four testing conditions. The testing conditions were formed by completely crossing rate of presentation of phoneme strings with type of stimulus to be blended (real or nonword). Both independent variables affected performance on the blending tasks, with better performance obtained at faster presentation rates and with real words. There was a developmental discontinuity in overall performance, with the kindergarten children obtaining substantially lower scores than the first or second graders. In the comparison of second-grade good and poor readers, there was a significant interaction between groups, presentation rates, and type of stimulus. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for a general model of performance on the sound blending task, as well as their value for interpreting individual differences on the task.     

Effects of post-session wheel running on within-session changes in operant responding

This study tested the effects of post-session wheel running on within-session changes in operant responding. Lever-pressing by six rats was reinforced by a food pellet under a continuous reinforcement (CRF) schedule in 30-min sessions. Two different flavored food pellets were used as reinforcers. In the wheel conditions, 30-min operant-sessions with one of the flavored pellets were followed by 30-min free-wheel running sessions. Meanwhile, in the home conditions, rats’ operant responding was reinforced by the other flavored pellets during 30-min operant-sessions, and the rats were then returned to their homecages. All rats were exposed to 4 wheel and 4 homecage sessions. Operant responding was lowered during the wheel conditions. However, post-session running did not alter the within-session pattern of operant responding. These effects were practically identical to the effects of drug-induced taste-aversion learning on within-session changes in operant responding, suggesting similar mechanisms in both taste-aversion preparations.     

Effects of pre-operant running and sucrose concentration on operant wheel running on a fixed interval schedule of reinforcement

Prior research proposed that temporal control over the pattern of operant wheel running on a fixed interval (FI) schedule of sucrose reinforcement is a function of automatic reinforcement generated by wheel running and the experimentally arranged sucrose reinforcement. Two experiments were conducted to assess this prediction. In the first experiment, rats ran for different durations (0, 30, 60, and 180 min) prior to a session of operant wheel running on a FI 120-s schedule. In the second experiment, the concentration of sucrose reinforcement on a FI 180-s schedule was varied across values of 0, 5, 15, and 25%. In Experiment 1, as the duration of pre-operant running increased, the postreinforcement pause before initiation of running lengthened while wheel revolutions in the latter part of the FI interval increased. In Experiment 2, wheel revolutions markedly increased then decreased to a plateau early in the FI interval. Neither manipulation increased temporal control of the pattern of wheel running. Instead, results indicate that operant wheel running is regulated by automatic reinforcement generated by wheel activity and an adjunctive pattern of running induced by the temporal presentation of sucrose. Furthermore, the findings question whether the sucrose contingency regulates wheel running as a reinforcing consequence.