Exercise modulates behavioral and neural mechanisms of working memory in excessive short video users

This study examined the associations between different exercise habits, working memory performance, and prefrontal cortical activation patterns in male college students with excessive short video use.

Eighty-two male college students were recruited. Behavioral tests and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were used to assess working memory performance and prefrontal oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHb). Participants were classified by daily exercise habits (high exercise habits [HE], low exercise habits [LE], no exercise habits [NE]) and short video usage (low video [LV], moderate video [MV], high video [HV]).

(1) In working memory tasks, the LV group exhibited significantly shorter reaction times and higher accuracy ratio than the MV and HV groups (all p < 0.01). The MV group also outperformed the HV group (all p < 0.05). (2) The HE group demonstrated higher accuracy and accuracy ratio than both the LE and NE groups (p = 0.035), and the LE group performed better than the NE group (p < 0.05). (3) A significant interaction between exercise habits and video usage duration was observed in channels 3 (left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex [VLPFC]), 6 (frontopolar cortex [FPC]), and 11 (orbitofrontal cortex [OFC]) during working memory tasks (all p < 0.05).

Excessive short video use was associated with poorer working memory performance, whereas regular exercise habits were associated with better behavioral performance. Moreover, exercise habits and short video use interacted to modulate prefrontal OxyHb in regions critical for cognitive control and decision-making. These findings suggest that promoting regular physical exercise may help counteract the negative cognitive effects of excessive short video consumption.