Purpose To evaluate the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on ecological memory, as assessed from a face-name memory task. Methods A two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled intervention was employed. Participants (N = 40; M age = 20.8 years) were randomized into a seated control task or a bout of acute moderate-intensity treadmill exercise (15min). Thereafter, participants completed a 3-phase face-name memory task, involving a study phase and two test phases (immediate and delayed recall, with the delay occurring 15 min after the immediate recall). Results For the immediate memory recall, the mean (SD) scores for the exercise and control conditions, respectively, were 6.60 (2.5) and 6.20 (2.5). For the 15-min delayed assessment, the respective scores were 6.25 (2.6) and 5.75 (1.9). There was a significant main effect for time (F = 4.06, P = 0.05, 2 p = 0.10). However, there were no main effects for group (F = 0.33, P = 0.56, 2 p = 0.01) or time by group interactions (F = 0.12, P = 0.72, 2 p = 0.003). Conclusions Despite the exercise group having slightly higher immediate and delayed face-name memory scores, we did not observe robust evidence of acute exercise enhancing face-name memory performance.

Background and Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential independent and interactive effects of handedness and grip strength on episodic memory function, and whether biological sex moderated these relationships. Materials and Methods: 162 young adults (Mage = 20.7 years) completed a series of memory assessments including a subjective memory complaint evaluation and several objective measures of memory. Handedness (i.e., left-hand dominant, inconsistent handedness (ICH), and right-hand dominant) was evaluated using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Handgrip strength was determined from a handgrip dynamometer. Results: When compared to ICH individuals, retrospective memory scores were statistically significantly worse for left-handed (p = 0.02) and right-handed (p = 0.03) individuals. Higher grip strength was statistically significantly associated with fewer retrospective memory complaints (b = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.19, p = 0.04). Conclusions: The present study provides some suggestive evidence that ICH (inconsistent handedness) and greater grip strength are associated with fewer retrospective memory complaints. However, we did not observe any evidence of an interaction effect of handedness and grip strength on memory, and similarly, biological sex did not interact with these parameters to influence memory.