The Effects of Acute Resistance Exercise on Memory, Processing Speed, and Mood State After a Cognitive Challenge

Abstract

AbstractVenezia, AC, Barney, P, Spagnoli, D, Greco-Hiranaka, C, Piepmeier, AT, Smith, JC, and Weiss, LR. The effects of acute resistance exercise on memory, processing speed, and mood state after a cognitive challenge.J Strength Cond Res37(9): 1738–1745, 2023—Acute moderate-to-vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise has been shown to improve learning and memory, but the effectiveness of acute high-intensity resistance exercise for improving memory is not fully understood. Like acute aerobic exercise, acute resistance exercise increases arousal and circulating catecholamines, mechanisms suggested to mediate the memory-enhancing effects of acute exercise. Furthermore, although acute exercise has been shown to benefit mood state, it is unknown if high-intensity resistance exercise positively influences mood state after a cognitive challenge. In this within-subjects design, subjects (18- to 25-year-old men) completed an approximately 40-minute session of resistance exercise or seated rest. Immediately after, the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) Code Substitution (CS)-Learning, CS-Immediate Recognition, and CS-Delayed Recognition tasks were completed, followed by the ANAM Mood Scale. There were no significant effects of exercise on recognition memory; however, CS-Learning (attention and processing speed) was better after resistance exercise (p= 0.03). After the cognitive challenge, restlessness (p< 0.001), vigor (p= 0.03), and depression (p= 0.047) scores were higher after resistance exercise compared with rest; however, after false discovery rate correction, only restlessness remained significantly different between sessions (q= 0.002), whereas vigor (q= 0.09) and depression (q= 0.09) did not. These results suggest that an acute bout of resistance exercise improves attention and processing speed, although it does not improve recognition memory and has mixed effects on mood state in college-aged men.