Open AccessA single high-intensity exercise bout during early consolidation does not influence retention or relearning of sensorimotor locomotor long-term memories
Author(s) -
Charalambos C. Charalambous,
Margaret A French,
Susanne M. Morton,
Darcy S. Reisman
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
experimental brain research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 172
eISSN - 1432-1106
pISSN - 0014-4819
DOI - 10.1007/s00221-019-05635-7
Subject(s) - psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , motor learning , treadmill , motor skill , session (web analytics) , physical therapy , exercise intensity , medicine , developmental psychology , heart rate , neuroscience , computer science , world wide web , blood pressure , radiology
A single exercise bout has been found to improve the retention of a skill-based upper extremity motor task up to a week post-practice. This effect is the greatest when exercise intensity is high and exercise is administered immediately after motor practice (i.e., early in consolidation). Whether exercise can affect other motor learning types (e.g., sensorimotor adaptation) and tasks (e.g., walking) is still unclear as previous studies have not optimally refined the exercise parameters and long-term retention testing. Therefore, we investigated whether a single high-intensity exercise bout during early consolidation would improve the long-term retention and relearning of sensorimotor adaptation during split-belt treadmill walking. Twenty-six neurologically intact adults attended three sessions; sessions 2 and 3 were 1 day and 7 days after session 1, respectively. Participants were allocated either to Rest (REST) or to Exercise (EXE) group. In session 1, all groups walked on a split-belt treadmill in a 2:1 speed ratio (1.5:0.75 m/s). Then, half of the participants exercised for 5 min (EXE), while the other half rested for 5 min (REST). A short exercise bout during early consolidation did not improve retention or relearning of locomotor memories one or seven days after session 1. This result reinforces previous findings that the effect of exercise on motor learning may differ between sensorimotor locomotor adaptation and skilled-based upper extremity tasks; thus, the utility of exercise as a behavioral booster of motor learning may depend on the type of motor learning and task.