Research on cognition has been closely associated with both human and animal subjects to improve and prolong cognition. However, most studies in human cognition have focused on children (Hillman et al., 2005) or elderly (Kamijo et al., 2007) but not college-age student. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that a moderate exercise training consisting of three 50-minute exercise sessions per week for 6 weeks, has the potential to improve memory immediate recall, memory delayed recall, and attention/concentration performance, and affect in young and healthy adults. Fifty-one physically inactive students participated and randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group took part in a moderate aerobic exercise program, whereas the control group was asked not to vary their inactive lifestyle. We found a significant increase in attention/concentration and memory immediate and delayed recall and a significant increase in positive affect on a .05 alpha level of significance. Therefore, we conclude that physical activity can possibly serve as a key element to improve affect and benefit cognitive performance in college-age students.
為了改善和延長認知,認知研究在人類和動物受試者有密切的相關。然而,大多數關於人類認知的研究都集中在兒童(Hillman 等人,2005)或老年人(Kamijo等人,2007),而不是大學生。在本研究中,我們測試了這樣的假設,即由每週三次運動訓練共150分鐘,為期6週的中等強度的有氧運動訓練有可能對健康的年輕人在改善即時記憶回憶,延遲記憶回憶和注意力/集中的表現上有正面影響。51名身體不活躍的學生參加並隨機分配到實驗組或對照組。實驗組參加了適度的有氧運動計劃,而對照組被要求不要改變他們不活躍的生活方式。我們發現注意力/集中和立即記憶和延遲記憶回憶的表現顯著增加,並且顯著增加有0.05%α顯著性水平的積極影響。因此,我們得出結論,身體活動可能成為提高大學生學習情感和有益於認知表現的關鍵因素。