Background and Objectives: Long-term potentiation (LTP), the functional connectivity among neurons, is considered a mechanism of episodic memory. Both acute exercise and learning are thought to influence memory via an LTP-related mechanism. Limited research has evaluated the individual and combined effects of acute exercise and learning strategy implementation (e.g., 3-R technique, cue-integration) on memory, which was the purpose of this study. Materials and Methods: For Experiment 1, participants (n = 80; Mage = 20.9 years) were randomized into one of four experimental groups, including Exercise + Learning (E + L), Learning Only (L), Exercise Only (E), and Control Group (C; no exercise and no learning strategy implementation). The exercise stimulus involved an acute 15-min bout of lower-intensity (60% of heart rate max) walking exercise and the learning strategy involved the implementation of the 3-R technique. Experiment 2 (n = 77; Mage = 21.1 years) replicated Experiment 1 but addressed limitations (e.g., exposure level of the memory task) from Experiment 1 and employed a higher-intensity bout of exercise (77% of heart rate max). Experiment 3 (n = 80; Mage = 21.0 years) evaluated these same four experimental conditions but employed a cue-integration learning strategy and a moderate-intensity bout of acute exercise (64% of heart rate max). Results: These three experiments demonstrate that both learning techniques were effective in enhancing memory and we also provided evidence of a main effect for acute exercise (Experiment 3). However, we did not observe consistent evidence of a learning by exercise interaction effect. Conclusions: We demonstrate that both acute exercise and different learning techniques are effective in enhancing long-term memory function.

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Previous work has demonstrated that acute exercise prior to memory encoding may enhance long-term memory. Similarly, other work demonstrates that acute exercise during the memory consolidation period may also enhance long-term memory function. However, no study has evaluated whether long-term memory is enhanced when an acute bout of exercise occurs during both of these time periods, when compared to just prior to memory encoding. A within-subject randomized controlled intervention was employed. On separate laboratory visits, participants completed two main protocols, including (1) exercise before memory encoding and (2) exercise before and after memory encoding. Long-term memory was assessed, via a word-list task, from a 20-min delay period and a 24-h delay period. We observed a significant main effect for time, F(8, 176) = 529.5, P < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.96, but no significant main effect for condition, F(1, 22) = 0.08, P = 0.77, η p 2 = 0.004, or time by condition interaction, F(8, 176) = 0.19, P = 0.99, η p 2 = 0.009. In conclusion, there was no difference in long-term memory function when comparing acute exercise only prior to memory encoding vs. acute exercise both before and immediately after memory encoding.

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