The Effect of Exercise on Learning and Memory

Changjian Wan

, Yuejun Zhou

, Songhua Wang

1,2,*

and Wei Meng

1,2,*

School of Sport Science, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China

Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China

Keywords:

Exercise, Exercise Intensity, Exercise Timing Choice, Age of Exercise Crowd, Learning and Memory.

Abstract: Learning and memory is the most complex neural activity process in humans and animals, which reflects the

brain’s ability to gain knowledge. Many studies have confirmed that, besides its function of delaying aging

and promoting growth, exercise also has an extremely important effect on the learning and memory functions

of the brain. Recent studies have shown that the effect of exercise on learning and memory varies according

to its intensity, timing and age of the exercising population. This paper combines our own research work to

analyze and summarize the multiple factors that influence exercise on learning and memory.

1 INTRODUCTION

Humans and animals can use new knowledge and

experiences to change their behavior and gain new

information to adapt to their environment, a process

called learning memory (Elshaw, 2010). Learning

memory is a very complex neural activity, one of the

higher functions of the brain, which is crucial to the

evolution of the whole species and therefore has been

a hot topic of scientific research (Herszage, 2018).

Many studies have confirmed that exercise, besides

its functions of delaying aging and promoting growth,

also has an extremely important effect on the learning

and memory function of the brain (Li, 2019). It has

been shown that physical exercise has the effect of

improving learning memory (Cassilhas, 2012).

Recent studies have also shown that exercise can

affect learning memory through different pathways

and mechanisms, which are related to various factors,

such as exercise intensity, choice of exercise timing,

and age of the exercising population (Ogonovszky,

2005; Labban, 2011; Tsai, 2018). In this paper, we

review the latest research progress on the effects of

exercise on learning and memory.

Corresponding authors

2 THE INFLUENCE OF

DIFFERENT EXERCISE

INTENSITY ON LEARNING

AND MEMORY

Exercise has a modulatory effect on neuroplasticity

and is closely related to learning and memory

function (Yamada, 2018). It has been established that

different exercise intensities stimulate the brain

differently and produce different effects on learning-

memory functions. Exercise intensity, which includes

load volume and load intensity, refers to the degree of

physiological stimulation of the body by physical

exercises and is one factor that makes up the volume

of exercise (Bai, 2001).

It is commonly accepted in academia that low-

intensity exercise can have beneficial effects on the

brain, while high-intensity exercise can cause

neurological damage, such as increased inflammatory

response and cell death (de Almeida Alexandre

Aparecido, 2013). For example, aerobic and fatigue

exercise models were established in mice by

swimming endurance training and combined with the

Morris water maze method to assess the learning and

memory ability of mice. The results showed that high-

intensity fatigue training impaired spatial cognition in

mice, whereas intensity aerobic training promoted

learning memory (Sun, 2002). However, it is possible

that this is not exactly the case, and possibly even the

192

Wan, C., Zhou, Y., Wang, S. and Meng, W.

The Effect of Exercise on Learning and Memory.

DOI: 10.5220/0012018200003633

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Biotechnology and Biomedicine (ICBB 2022), pages 192-197

ISBN: 978-989-758-637-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

opposite. In a 2005 study, Ogonovszky et al.

examined the effects of moderate load intensity (MT),

strenuous load (ST) and overload (OT) training on

memory and its activity of lipid peroxidation, protein

oxidation, DNA damage, 8-oxoG-DNA glycosylate

(OGG1) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor

(BDNF) in the rat brain. The assessment of the

passive avoidance test showed that memory was

enhanced in the ST and OT groups of rats, while

BDNF levels were elevated only in the OT group.

Lipid and DNA oxidative damage did not change

significantly during exercise and the activity of DNA

repair enzyme OGG1 did not change with exercise

training. In contrast, the content of reactive carbonyl

derivatives (RCDS) decreased in all groups, with a

significant decrease in the ST and OT groups. In

addition, proteasome complex activity was enhanced

in the brains of rats in the OT group (Ogonovszky,

2005). These results suggest overload exercise

training was not only more effective in enhancing the

learning and memory capacity of adult rats compared

to moderate and vigorous exercise training, but also

increased the rate of protein degradation in the brain

without causing significant brain damage. After

experiments using different exercise intensities on

obese mice maintained on a high-fat diet, it was found

that high-intensity exercise significantly increased

BDNF levels in the brains of the mice and improved

their learning memory ability in the water maze. In

another study, although no improvement in learning

and memory capacity was found with high-intensity

exercise, BDNF levels were also significantly

increased. This suggests that high-intensity or even

overload exercise training does not cause oxidative

stress in the brain, but may be more conducive to

improved learning memory capacity, and that this

process may be associated with increased BDNF

levels. In addition, it has been found that exercise-

induced changes in BDNF and cell proliferation

levels in the hippocampus are related to both exercise

intensity and developmental period (de Almeida

Alexandre Aparecido, 2013).

Other studies have shown that different exercise

intensities also have different effects on working

memory. Wang et al. divided female Wistar rats into

low-intensity, medium-intensity, and high-intensity

treadmill exercise training for 30 minutes, and then

used the T-maze delayed spatial alternation (DSA)

task to evaluate the working memory and spatial

memory of each group. The results show that exercise

can improve long-term spatial memory and working

memory. Low-intensity exercise is beneficial to

short-term delayed working memory, while moderate

and high-intensity exercise is beneficial too long-term

delayed working memory, and there is an inverted U-

shaped effect between exercise intensity and memory

effect. Relationship, the improvement effect of

moderate-intensity exercise is better than low-

intensity and high-intensity exercise (Wang, 2016). In

addition, the study by Weng et al. also supports that

brain mechanisms related to working memory

selectively benefit from moderate-intensity exercise

(Weng, 2015). It can be seen that moderate-intensity

exercise improves working memory.

3 THE INFLUENCE OF

EXERCISE TIMING ON

LEARNING AND MEMORY

The effect of exercise on learning and memory has a

temporal selection effect, and the extent to which

exercise affects memory function may depend on the

relationship between exercise and the learning task;

exercise performed before, during, and after learning

will have different effects on memory function (Frith

Emily, 2017).

A study by Labban and Etnier (Labban, 2011)

found that exercise before memory formation showed

better performance in long-term memory than a

control group that exercised some time after memory

formation and no exercise. Recently, Frith et al. (Frith

Emily, 2017), in order to investigate the temporal

effects of high-intensity exercise on the effects of

short-term and long-term memory, 88 young adult

subjects, randomly divided into four groups: control,

pre-learning exercise, exercise during learning, and

post-learning exercise groups, Short-term and long-

term memory were also assessed using the Rey

Auditory Verbal Learning Test(rey auditory verbal

learning test), where short-term memory was assessed

with a 20-minute delay and long-term memory was

assessed with a 24-hour follow-up. The findings

suggest that high-intensity exercise prior to memory

formation is more effective in enhancing long-term

memory than high-intensity exercise during memory

formation and consolidation. This suggests that the

timing of high-intensity exercise may play an

important role in promoting long-term memory. Sng

(Sng, 2018) et al. further investigated the temporal

effect of acute exercise on the effect of situational

memory and found that 15 minutes of moderate-

intensity treadmill walking exercise before memory

formation was also significantly more effective in

enhancing learning and long-term situational memory

than the effect of receiving the same stimulus during

memory formation and memory consolidation,

The Effect of Exercise on Learning and Memory

193

showing that not only high-intensity exercise but also

moderate-intensity exercise was more effective in

promoting long-term memory before memory

formation.

Both studies were randomized controlled trials

conducted among subjects. To reduce the effect of

individual differences during the assessment, James

et al. (Haynes, 2019) used within-subjects controlled

experimental design, arranging 24 subjects aged 18-

35 years to undergo four tests sequentially, including

exercise before memory formation, exercise during

memory formation, exercise after memory formation,

and a no-exercise self-control, all with a 15-minute

moderate The results of the memory function

assessment, which followed the same method as the

previous two studies, showed that moderate-intensity

exercise stimulation before memory formation had a

better effect on both short-term and long-term

memory compared to the other tests (exercise during

memory formation, exercise after memory formation,

and self-control without exercise). The above series

of findings provide firm evidence to support the

temporal selection effect of acute exercise on

memory.

4 THE INFLUENCE OF SPORTS

ON LEARNING AND MEMORY

IN DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

Learning memory capacity varies between ages, and

hippocampus-dependent memory function changes

with age, gradually increasing from early to middle

age and then gradually decreasing again from middle

age to old age, showing an inverted U-shaped change

(Ludyga, 2016). Studies have shown that exercise can

promote hippocampal neurogenesis and reduce

memory deficits caused by aging (van Praag

Henriette, 2005), but the effects of exercise on

learning and memory may be different in different

age groups.

Among the symptoms of age-related cognitive

decline, the decline or even loss of learning and

memory function is one of the most significant

problems. Because the hippocampus is an important

region responsible for learning and memory function

and the first area of the brain to show age-related

structural and functional changes, it has become an

important structure for studying age-related learning

memory deficits. Many studies have shown that

exercise can improve memory function (Liu, 2009),

but the effects of exercise may be different at different

ages. Tsai (Tsai, 2018) scheduled three groups of

mice aged 3 months (adult), 9 months (middle-aged)

and 18 months (elderly) for 6 weeks of moderate

intensity treadmill exercise. One day after the

exercise, the learning and memory ability of the three

age groups of mice was examined by Morris water

maze and object recognition test, respectively, while

neurons in CA1 region of hippocampus were

fluorescently labeled, neuronal morphology was

observed, and neuronal long-range synaptic plasticity

was examined. The results showed that the memory

ability and the dendritic complexity and spine density

of neurons in the CA1 region of the hippocampus

decreased with age, while the long-range synaptic

plasticity and related protein expression were not

affected by age. After 6 weeks of moderate-intensity

motor stimulation, the long-range synaptic plasticity

and dendritic complexity of neurons in the

hippocampal CA1 region increased in all age groups,

and the learning and memory abilities of middle-aged

and old mice were significantly improved. In

addition, 6 weeks of moderate intensity exercise

upregulated the expression of BDNF and mono

carboxylate transporter-4 (MCT-4) in the

hippocampus of middle-aged mice, glutamine

synthetase (GS) in aged mice, and BDNF receptor pro

myosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in middle-aged and

aged mice B (tropomyosin receptor kinase B, TrkB)

expression, where BDNF-TrkB signaling has been an

important regulator of exercise on regulating brain

function (Yang, 2015), while MCT-4 and GS are

associated with neuroplasticity. This study showed

that long-term moderate-intensity exercise effectively

enhanced hippocampal neuroplasticity in mice in

adulthood and enhanced learning memory capacity in

middle and old age.

The decline in learning and memory function with

increasing age may be associated with certain

biochemical changes. Part of hippocampal function

depends on the activity of key enzymes, such as

sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na

, K

ATPase), an important transmembrane enzyme

responsible for electrochemical gradients across the

cell membrane. It has been shown that impairment of

, K

-ATPase is associated with spatial learning

and memory deficits (Moseley, 2007), and it has been

found that Na

, K

-ATPase activity increases in the

hippocampus while spatial task training (Heo, 2012).

Vanzella et al. (Vanzella, 2017) divided age 3 months

(adult), 6 months (middle age) and 22 months (old

age) of Wister rats, randomly divided into a control

group (no exercise and cognitive training), a

sedentary group (no exercise but cognitive training)

and an exercise group (20 minutes of treadmill

exercise at 60% of maximal oxygen uptake three

ICBB 2022 - International Conference on Biotechnology and Biomedicine

194

times a week for 4 weeks while receiving cognitive

training). The spatial memory ability of each group

after receiving the conditioned stimuli was examined

by Morris water maze, and Na

, K

-ATPase activity

was also measured. The results showed moderate

treadmill exercise prevented spatial learning and

memory deficits in aged rats, while water maze

training alone increased Na

, K

-ATPase activity in

aged rats, and treadmill exercise combined with

cognitive training further increased Na

, K

-ATPase

activity, which significantly enhanced the working

memory capacity of aged rats. This suggests that the

activity of Na

, K

-ATPase may be related to the

memory ability of aged rats. Based on the above

findings, we believe moderate exercise not only has a

facilitative effect on learning and memory capacity in

adulthood, but also significantly improves learning

memory function deficits caused by aging.

We investigated the effects and mechanisms of

experiencing voluntary exercise on learning and

memory capacity in mice during development by

behavioral, membrane clamp and histological

methods. Our results showed that mice experiencing

voluntary running-wheel exercise during

development induced enhanced spatial learning and

memory ability in adulthood, accompanied by

increased excitatory synaptic transmission and

increased neuronal dendritic spine density in the

hippocampal DG region (unpublished data). This

result suggests that voluntary exercise experienced

during development may enhance spatial learning and

memory capacity by enhancing synaptic transmission

in the hippocampal DG region of mice.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The effect of exercise on learning and memory has

been proved by many studies, and among the effects

of exercise intensity on learning and memory,

different intensities of exercise have positive effects

on learning and memory, and many studies have

shown that moderate intensity exercise produces the

best effect on learning and memory ability, although

many studies have been conducted, some effects are

still controversial, for example, some studies have

shown that high-intensity exercise has damage on

learning and memory ability For example, some

studies have shown that high-intensity exercise is

detrimental to learning and memory, but the

detriment may not be caused by the exercise itself, but

by the negative effects of psychological stress, and

different results may be obtained from different

research perspectives, i.e., high-intensity exercise has

also been shown to enhance learning memory ability.

Regarding the timing of exercise, although different

timing choices have an enhancing effect on learning

and memory capacity, exercises performed before

memory formation have the best effect. In contrast,

among the different age stages of exercise,

appropriate exercise has a positive effect both in

young and middle age and old age, and the effect is

most pronounced in old age (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Among the effects of exercise intensity on learning and memory, moderate intensity exercise had the best effect on

enhancing learning and memory ability. In the influence of exercise on age, exercise has the best effect on the improvement

of learning and memory ability of the elderly. In the choice of exercise timing, exercise before learning and memory is the

best effect.

The Effect of Exercise on Learning and Memory

195

In this paper, we combine our experimental work

to provide a theoretical basis for exercise to enhance

learning memory capacity and improve learning

disability by analyzing and summarizing the different

influences of exercise on learning and memory

capacity. In addition, the brain has multiple memory

systems, such as the hippocampus, basal nucleus,

amygdala and cerebellum, and more mechanisms of

the interaction between each memory system and the

effect of exercise on learning and memory are still to

be explained, such as the mechanism of the temporal

effect of exercise on learning and memory, the

improvement of memory dysfunction caused by

aging by exercise, the effect of exercise on learning

and memory ability during the developmental period

of the brain, and so on. With the continuous

improvement of neurobiology, molecular biology and

other research techniques, these issues will eventually

be unveiled, and new research findings will further

reveal the mechanism of exercise for brain function

enhancement and provide a theoretical basis for

guiding exercise training practice.

FUNDING

This work was supported by the National Natural

Science Foundation of China (32160123, 31860605),

the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province

(20212ACB205002, 20212BAB205003,

20202BABL205022).

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