The immediate effects of strenuous exercise on free-recall memory

A free-recall memory task was used to assess the after-effects of strenuous exercise on the cognitive functioning of young adults. In a first study, 24 college-age subjects performed tests of memory immediately following a treadmill run to voluntary exhaustion. The number of words recalled following exercise did not differ from the number of words recalled by 24 subjects in a non-exercise control group. Further, there were no differences in the serial position effect between the two groups. In a second study, 12 highly fit subjects were compared with 12 subjects of average fitness. No differences were found.