Effects of acute and chronic physical activity on Spatial Pattern Separation in humans

RAMIREZ BUTAVAND, DANIELA; MARÍA FLORENCIA RODRÍGUEZ; CIFUENTES, MARÍA VIRGINIA; LAZO, MARCOS; GARCÍA BAUZA, CRISTIAN; BEKINSCHTEIN, PEDRO; BALLARINI, FABRICIO

Villa Carlos Paz

Congreso; XXXIV ANUAL MEETING SAN 2019; 2019

The computational process of distinguishing between similar input patterns is known as pattern separation. It has been reported that BDNF expression in the dentate gyrus is essential for the memory consolidation of similar spatial representations but not dissimilar ones. Additionally, numerous studies have demonstrated that exercise can regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis, which is known to benefit spatial pattern separation in rodents.In light of these findings, this study aimed to develop a task within an immersive Virtual Reality environment to assess spatial pattern separation and the impact of exercise on this phenomenon. The task involved evaluating long-term memory with varying pattern separation loads, achieved by implementing both similar and dissimilar conditions. In the similar condition, the flags were positioned 20° apart, while in the dissimilar condition, they were separated by 40°.The study began by assessing the influence of acute physical activity (Acute) on the consolidation of both similar and dissimilar conditions, followed by testing them 24 hours later. Additionally, the study explored this phenomenon in a population of athletes (Chronic). The results indicated a significant improvement in memory within the Acute group, particularly in the similar condition when compared to the Control group (as seen in a video of someone exercising). Furthermore, there was a noticeable trend towards improved performance in the Chronic group, although this difference did not reach statistical significance.The translational implications of this paradigm have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the biological foundations of human cognition and mental health.