It is widely accepted that physical exercise can be used as a tool for the prevention and treatment of various diseases or disorders. In addition, in the recent years, exercise has also been successfully used to enhance people's cognition. There is a large amount of research that has supported the benefits of physical exercise on human cognition, both in children and adults. Among these studies, some have focused on the acute or transitory effects of exercise on cognition, while others have focused on the effects of regular physical exercise. However, the relation between exercise and cognition is complex and we still have limited knowledge about the moderators and mechanisms underlying this relation. Most of human studies have focused on the behavioral aspects of exercise-effects on cognition, while animal studies have deepened in its possible neuro-physiological mechanisms. Even so, thanks to advances in neuroimaging techniques, there is a growing body of evidence that provides valuable information regarding these mechanisms in the human population. This review aims to analyze the effects of regular and acute aerobic exercise on cognition. The exercise-cognition relationship will be reviewed both from the behavioral perspective and from the neurophysiological mechanisms. The effects of exercise on animals, adult humans, and infant humans will be analyzed separately. Finally, physical exercise intervention programs aiming to increase cognitive performance in scholar and workplace environments will be reviewed.

We assessed the effect of a single bout of intense exercise on the adaptation and consolidation of a rotational visuomotor task, together with the effect of the order of exercise presentation relative to the learning task. Healthy adult participants (n = 29) were randomly allocated to one of three experimental groups: (1) exercise before task practice, (2) exercise after task practice, and (3) task practice only. After familiarization with the learning task, participants undertook a baseline practice set. Then, four 60° clockwise rotational sets were performed, comprising an adaptation set and three retention sets at 1 h, 24 h, and 7 days after the adaptation set. Depending on the experimental group, exercise was presented before or after the adaptation sets. We found that error reduction during adaptation was similar regardless of when exercise was presented. During retention, significant error reduction was found in the retention set at 1 h for both exercise groups, but this enhancement was not present during subsequent retention sets, with no differences present between exercise groups. We conclude that an acute bout of intense exercise could positively affect retention, although the order in which exercise is presented does not appear to influence its benefits during the early stages of consolidation.

We assessed the effect of an acute intense exercise bout on the adaptation and consolidation of a visuomotor adaptation task in children. We also sought to assess if exercise and learning task presentation order could affect task consolidation. Thirty-three children were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) exercise before the learning task, (b) exercise after the learning task, and (c) only learning task. Baseline performance was assessed by practicing the learning task in a 0° rotation condition. Afterward, a 60° rotation-adaptation set was applied followed by three rotated retention sets after 1 hr, 24 hr, and 7 days. For the exercise groups, exercise was presented before or after the motor adaptation. Results showed no group differences during the motor adaptation while exercise seemed to enhance motor consolidation. Greater consolidation enhancement was found in participants who exercised before the learning task. Our data support the importance of exercise to improve motor-memory consolidat...

Background: Maximal isometric finger dead-hangs are used in rock climbing to strengthen finger flexors. Although various grip positions are often used when performing finger dead-hangs, little is known regarding how these grip positions can affect forearm muscle activity. Understanding how forearm muscles are recruited during dead-hangs could help foreseeing the potential for training of different grip positions. The aim of the present study was to explore the training applications of the various grip positions by comparing the activity of forearm muscles during maximal dead-hangs in rock climbers.Materials & Methods: Twenty-five climbers performed maximal dead-hangs in three climbing-specific grip positions: CRIMP, SLOPE, and SLOPER. We recorded the maximal loads used and the sEMG of the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP), the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS), the flexor carpi radialis (FCR), and the extensor digitorum communis (EDC). Individual and global (sum of all muscles) root mean square (RMS) and neuromuscular efficiency (NME) values were computed. Repeated measures analysis were performed to assess grip differences (p < 0.05).Results: SLOPER showed the largest maximal load values among the three grip positions (p < 0.001,d ≥ 2.772). Greater global (p ≤ 0.044,d ≥ 0.268), FDS (p ≤ 0.005,d ≥ 0.277), and FCR (p < 0.001,d ≥ 1.049) activity was observed for the SLOPER compared to CRIMP and SLOPE, while EDC (p ≤ 0.005,d ≥ 0.505) showed lower activity in the SLOPER compared to the other two grip positions. SLOPER presented the highest global (p < 0.001,d ≥ 0.629), FDP (p < 0.001,d≥ 0.777), FDS (only CRIMPvsSLOPER:p< 0.001,d= 0.140), and EDC NME (p< 0.001,d≥ 1.194). The CRIMP showed greater FDS activity (p= 0.001,d= 0.386) and lower NME (p= 0.003,d= 0.125) compared to SLOPE.Conclusions: These results revealed that, under maximum intensity conditions, SLOPER could stimulate the FDS and FCR better than the other grip positions at the expense of using greater loads. Similarly, maximum CRIMP dead-hang could better stimulate the FDS than the SLOPE, even when using similar loads.

Physical exercise has been proposed as a viable means to stimulate motor learning. Exercise characteristics, including intensity and duration, may play a role in modulating the exercise effect on motor learning. While some evidence exists regarding the benefits of intense and relatively long exercise, little is known about the effect of short exercise bouts on motor learning, especially in children. This study aimed to assess the effect of long versus short intense exercise bouts on the adaptation and consolidation of a rotational visuomotor adaptation task. The participants were 71 healthy children from two sites divided into three groups: long exercise bout (LONG), short exercise bout (SHORT), and no exercise (CON). Children performed a rotated (clockwise 60° rotation) motor task on four different occasions: an adaptation set and 1 h, 24 h, and 7 days delayed retention sets. Exercise bouts were performed prior to the adaptation set. Results showed a group effect during motor adaptation [F(2,68) = 3.160; p = 0.049; ${\mathrm{\eta }}_{\text{p}}^2$ = 0.087], but no statistical differences were found between groups. Regarding retention tests, both exercise groups (LONG and SHORT) showed superior retention compared to CON group [F(2,68) = 7.102; p = 0.002; ${\mathrm{\eta }}_{\text{p}}^2$ = 0.175]. No differences were found between exercise groups, indicating similar benefits for the two exercise interventions. Overall, whether the exercise duration was long or short, exercise improved motor memory retention as an estimate of memory consolidation process. The use of short exercise bouts may be suitable to improve children’s motor memory consolidation in environments where time constraints exist.