Shedding Light on the Effects of Orienteering Exercise on Spatial Memory Performance in College Students of Different Genders: An fNIRS Study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the intervention effect of orienteering exercises on the spatial memory ability of college students of different genders and its underlying mechanism. Methods: Forty-eight college students were randomly screened into experimental and control groups, 12 each of male and female, by SBSOD scale. The effects of 12 weeks of orienteering exercises on the behavioral performance and brain activation patterns during the spatial memory tasks of college students of different genders were explored by behavioral tests and the fNIRS technique. Results: After the orienteering exercise intervention in the experimental group, the male students had significantly greater correct rates and significantly lower reaction times than the female students; left and right dorsolateral prefrontal activation was significantly reduced in the experimental group, and the male students had a significantly greater reduction in the left dorsolateral prefrontal than the female students. The degree of activation in the left and right dorsolateral prefrontals of the male students and the right dorsolateral prefrontals of the female students correlated significantly with behavioral performance, and the functional coupling between the brain regions showed an enhanced performance. Discussion: Orienteering exercises improve the spatial memory ability of college students, more significantly in male students. The degree of activation of different brain regions correlated with behavioral performance and showed some gender differences.

Orienteering experts report more proficient spatial processing and memory across adulthood

“…Yet, the alternative is worth considering-that the engagement in orienteering may be neural protective to spatial domains of cognition, including both spatial processing and spatial memory. This interpretation is consistent with prior work demonstrating the effectiveness of shortterm orienteering training on visuospatial working memory [48] and longitudinal data demonstrating that greater GPS use is associated with a steeper decline in hippocampal-dependent spatial memory [3]. Taken together, our results and others suggest that aging-related decline in spatial memory may not only be related to aging per se but also to losing what we do not use (i.e., "use it or lose it").…”

“…Most of the orienteers in this study fell beyond this criterion, with more than one-third of participants reporting over 20 years of experience. Moreover, although we included sex as a covariate in our analyses and it did not impact our results, males and females often approach navigational tasks differently [62], and one prior study of 24 participants found that only males benefited from a 12-week orienteering training program whereas females did not [48]. Moving forward, it is important for future research to consider sex differences in the effects of orienteering on cognition.…”

“…Ideally, we would have recruited beginner-level orienteers to test this hypothesis; however, none of our participants were at that level. Nonetheless, the "use it or lose it" hypothesis is supported by the prior observations that short-term real-world orienteering training results in spatial processing gains [48] and that individuals who rely less on GPS have better navigation skills [3]. Longitudinal interventions are needed to determine how much navigational practice is required to alter evolutionarily relevant but neglected navigational skills.…”

“…They also failed to include the physical stimulus of exercise, which we would argue makes orienteering so unique to the field of exercise cognition. A third study had 24 college students complete a 12-week real-world orienteering intervention at a moderate exercise intensity and observed improvements on a computer-based two-dimensional visuospatial working memory task, however, the improvements were only observed in male participants [48]. While these findings are promising, more work is needed.…”

The Effect of Orienteering on the Sixth-Grade Students' Academic Achievement and Map Literacy

“…Oryantiring, fiziksel dayanıklılık yanında problem çözme, karar verme, mekânsal düşünme ve harita okuma gibi becerilerle bağlantılı zihinsel becerileri de gerektiren; bulunduğu çevrede rota, konum ve yönleri belirleyerek kısa sürede ve hızlı biçimde verilen görevlerin yerine getirilmesine dayanan bir spordur (Bao, Liu ve Liu, 2022;Di Tore, 2016;Johansson, 1986;Ottosson, 1986;Seiler, 1985). Başka bir ifade ile, maraton koşarken satranç oynamak gibidir (Bao vd., 2022).…”