The Temporal Effects of Acute Exercise on Episodic Memory Function: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Exercise science
• Cognitive neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• The timing of physical activity influences episodic memory, but moderating factors are not fully understood.
• Acute exercise timing is crucial for memory function, impacting encoding, consolidation, and recall.
• Understanding how exercise timing interacts with memory processes is essential for optimizing cognitive benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and meta-analyze the effects of acute exercise timing on episodic memory.
• To evaluate how study characteristics and participant attributes moderate the exercise-memory relationship across different temporal periods.
• To synthesize evidence on exercise's impact on memory encoding, early consolidation, and late consolidation.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search across Embase/PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Sports Discus, and PsychInfo.
• Inclusion of experimental studies with control groups evaluating acute exercise and episodic memory outcomes.
• Meta-analysis of data from 25 eligible articles to estimate pooled effect sizes.

Main Results:

• Acute exercise during early consolidation (d = 0.47) and late consolidation (d = 1.05) significantly enhanced episodic memory.
• Exercise during memory encoding negatively impacted episodic memory (d = -0.12).
• Exercise before encoding showed a non-significant trend towards enhancement (d = 0.11).

Conclusions:

• The temporal placement of acute exercise critically influences episodic memory outcomes.
• Exercise-related factors (modality, intensity) and participant factors (age) moderate the timing-dependent effects on memory.
• Strategic timing of exercise can be leveraged to optimize cognitive function, particularly memory consolidation.