Both Exercise And Socialization Influence Acute Changes In Cognitive Performance

PURPOSE: Acute exercise has been shown to improve cognitive performance across a wide variety of cognitive parameters. Of note, prefrontal cortex dependent tasks associated with executive function seem to be improved following aerobic exercise. A major component of many individuals’ exercise sessions also include social interaction, which may also improve cognitive functioning. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess how exercise and/or socialization acutely influence cognitive performance. METHODS: Young, healthy participants (18-45 years old) were recruited from CUNY college campuses. After assessing VO2max, participants completed four study sessions: with or without exercise and/or socialization; in a randomized order. Exercise was performed on a treadmill, with sessions lasting 30 minutes followed by a 10-minute recovery period. Control sessions were sedentary, but matched with exercise sessions for duration. During exercise, participants maintained their heart rate (HR) within five beats-per-minute of 50% of their HR-reserve. Before and after each study session, participants completed a computerized Eriksen flanker (EF) task and Stroop neuropsychological tasks. Both response accuracy and response time (RT) were recorded. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to study main effects of Exercise and Socialization on changes in accuracy and RT. RESULTS: There were significant differences in HR between exercise and control sessions (p < 0.001) with no differences between socialization and no-socialization sessions (p = 0.108). There were no differences in RT for Stroop or EF tasks following for exercise or socialization conditions. However, there were significant effects of exercise on EF congruent (p = 0.033), incongruent (p = 0.017), and neutral (p = 0.016) tasks. There were also significant effects of socialization on EF congruent (p = 0.044) and neutral (p = 0.015) tasks. Within the EF congruent and neutral tasks, there were also significant interactions between exercise and socialization (p = 0.04 and p = 0.016). There were no significant effects of exercise or socialization on Stroop task accuracy or RT. CONCLUSION: Both exercise and socialization acutely influence cognition, but may interact in beneficial or negative ways.