Does exercise make us better learners? Some studies would suggest yes, however, we have a limited understanding of how exercise affects the brain. To understand if and how exercise affects learning, a logical starting point is the most basic form of learning – associative learning. This involves learning about the relationship between two stimuli. Using BlinkLab’s smartphone technology, we were able to study this form of learning in humans. While a participant watches a movie on a smartphone, a small white dot in the middle of the screen is presented just before a blink-evoking short and loud tone is played via headphones. Initially, the white dot elicits no response but after repeated pairings, a person learns to associate the dot with the tone and blinks in response to the dot. In other words, the person is conditioned to the white dot.
Our latest work published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience investigated whether 30 minutes of moderate intensity running or cycling directly before three associative learning sessions improved associative learning and whether these effects of exercise differed between individuals that exercise regularly versus those who do not exercise regularly. We found that in regular exercisers, acute aerobic exercise resulted in faster and improved learning compared to non-regular exercisers.
As associative learning involves brain pathways that are well known, this study gives us insight on some of the specific brain regions affected by exercise. Furthermore, our findings highlight not only the importance of acute exercise in a fundamental learning task, but also the role played by regular exercise in maximising the beneficial effects of exercise. We can use this knowledge for further research on the effects of exercise on higher forms of learning thereby paving the way for interventions aimed at
improving learning in both healthy and clinical populations. Finally, our study represents a step-forward in understanding the impact of lifestyle-related factors on BlinkLab’s neurometrics.
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