A Single Bout of Moderate Aerobic Exercise Improves Motor Skill Acquisition

Abstract

Long-term exercise is associated with improved performance on a variety of cognitive tasks including attention, executive function, and long-term memory. Remarkably, recent studies have shown that even a single bout of aerobic exercise can lead to immediate improvements in declarative learning and memory, but less is known about the effect of exercise on motor learning. Here we sought to determine the effect of a single bout of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on motor skill learning. In experiment 1, we investigated the effect of moderate aerobic exercise on motor acquisition. 24 young, healthy adults performed a motor learning task either immediately after 30 minutes of moderate intensity running, after running followed by a long rest period, or after slow walking. Motor skill was assessed via a speed-accuracy tradeoff function to determine how exercise might differentially affect two distinct components of motor learning performance: movement speed and accuracy. In experiment 2, we investigated both acquisition and retention of motor skill across multiple days of training. 20 additional participants performed either a bout of running or slow walking immediately before motor learning on three consecutive days, and only motor learning (no exercise) on a fourth day. We found that moderate intensity running led to an immediate improvement in motor acquisition for both a single session and on multiple sessions across subsequent days, but had no effect on between-day retention. This effect was driven by improved movement accuracy, as opposed to speed. However, the benefit of exercise was dependent upon motor learning occurring immediately after exercise–resting for a period of one hour after exercise diminished the effect. These results demonstrate that moderate intensity exercise can prime the nervous system for the acquisition of new motor skills, and suggest that similar exercise protocols may be effective in improving the outcomes of movement rehabilitation programs.

The influence of high intensity exercise and the Val66Met polymorphism on circulating BDNF and locomotor learning

“…Our results suggest that high intensity exercise did not provide a significant additional benefit to learning of a novel locomotor pattern, conflicting with the results of previous studies examining the effects of exercise on motor learning in neurologically intact adults (Roig et al, 2012; Skriver et al, 2014; Statton et al, 2015). While non-significant, there were trends toward differences between the groups (Figure 5).…”

“…Converging evidence has linked exercise with improved cognitive function in healthy individuals as well as those post stroke (Colcombe & Kramer, 2003; Kluding, Tseng, & Billinger, 2011; Quaney et al, 2009; Rand, Eng, Liu-Ambrose, & Tawashy, 2010; Winter et al, 2007). Evidence citing the effects of aerobic exercise on motor learning, however, is sparse in comparison to studies of cognitive performance and learning (Roig, Skriver, Lundbye-Jensen, Kiens, & Nielsen, 2012; Skriver et al, 2014; Statton, Encarnacion, Celnik, & Bastian, 2015). …”

Movement-Based Priming: Clinical Applications and Neural Mechanisms

“…Roig et al (2012) demonstrated that 20 min of intense cycling performed immediately before or after practicing a visuomotor skill task improves retention of the motor skill more than practicing the task alone. This finding was further supported by Statton, Encarnacion, Celnik, and Bastian (2015) and Mang, Snow, Campbell, Ross, and Boyd (2014) who observed that 20–30 min of moderate aerobic exercise led to an immediate improvement in motor performance of a skilled task. It has been suggested that when exercise precedes practice, improvements in skill learning could be due to better encoding of procedural information whereas when exercise is performed after practice is perhaps due to consolidation of long-term memory.…”

Physical Exercise Performed Four Hours after Learning Improves Memory Retention and Increases Hippocampal Pattern Similarity during Retrieval

“…However, previous studies using procedural tasks have provided evidence that in those settings the close proximity of exercise maximizes its effects on memory [29][30][31] (for an exception, see [32]). For this reason, it seems that the effect of exercise on memory is not only modulated by timing but also by the type of memory investigated.…”