A physically active lifestyle is related to an enhancement in immediate memory for positive valence stimuli

BOSSIO, M.; JUSTEL, N.

Cordoba

Congreso; XXXIV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias; 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

Physical activity could enhance cognitive functions in a wide age range. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the amount of physical activity people do throughout their daily life and evaluated if this measure was related to emotional memory. Forty-eight young adults completed a self-reported questionnaire referring to the type and quantity of physical activity carried out in a typical week of their lives. Regarding memory, subjects watched a set of pictures with different valence (positive, negative, and neutral), from the International Affective Picture System. After acquisition phase, memory was evaluated through a two-task test: free recall and recognition (immediate and deferred, after one week). We found that participants with a lifestyle more committed to physical-sport activity recalled more positive pictures in the immediate free recall task in comparison to people with moderate and low activity commitment. The high commitment group also showed a high recognition score compared to the other groups. These findings allow us to conclude that a lifestyle committed with activity could improve memory for positive affective stimuli acquired through a visual modality. Physical exercise could be considered an appealing treatment, since it?s an easy and low-cost intervention that could be used for people in a wide age range.