Acute exercise on memory: application of the retrieval-induced forgetting paradigm

Accumulating research has shown that acute exercise can enhance memory function. Although counterintuitive, acute exercise may also facilitate aspects of forgetting. Specifically, retrieving a subset of items from memory can facilitate the retention of retrieved items (retrieval practice) and inhibit the subsequent retrieval of non-retrieved items from the same category (retrieval-induced forgetting; RIF). Given that acute exercise has been shown to enhance cognition-related inhibition, acute exercise may facilitate RIF, which was evaluated in three experiments. In Experiment 1, a sample of 180 young adults completed either a control (N = 60), moderate-intensity acute exercise (N = 57), or vigorous-intensity acute exercise session (N = 63). Both acute exercise sessions lasted 20 min and occurred prior to the study list. Participants then completed a standard RIF protocol, with the final test occurring via a recognition task. Acute exercise, regardless of intensity, had no effect on RIF. Experiment 2 (N = 225) was similar to Experiment 1 but used a cued recall final test, and also showed no effects of acute exercise on RIF. In Experiment 3 (N = 158), two cued recall tests were implemented, with acute exercise occurring between the two tests. Acute exercise, but not a control scenario, preserved the RIF effect across the cued recall assessments. These findings suggest that acute exercise prior to study may not influence RIF, but when positioned between two recall assessments, acute exercise may preserve the RIF effect over time.