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Abstract
The effects of acute exercise on cognitive performance were examined using meta-analytic
techniques. The overall mean effect size was dependent on the timing of cognitive
assessment. During exercise, cognitive task performance was impaired by a mean effect
of -0.14. However, impairments were only observed during the first 20min of exercise.
Otherwise, exercise-induced arousal enhanced performance on tasks that involved rapid
decisions and automatized behaviors. Following exercise, cognitive task performance
improved by a mean effect of 0.20. Arousal continued to facilitate speeded mental
processes and also enhanced memory storage and retrieval. Positive effects were observed
following exercise regardless of whether the study protocol was designed to measure
the effects of steady-state exercise, fatiguing exercise, or the inverted-U hypothesis.
Finally, cognitive performance was affected differentially by exercise mode. Cycling
was associated with enhanced performance during and after exercise, whereas treadmill
running led to impaired performance during exercise and a small improvement in performance
following exercise. These results are indicative of the complex relation between exercise
and cognition. Cognitive performance may be enhanced or impaired depending on when
it is measured, the type of cognitive task selected, and the type of exercise performed.
Published by Elsevier B.V.