Exercise After Study Boosts Memory

There is significant interest in activities that may boost academic achievement in the classroom.

I previously posted on evidence that exercise prior to a learning task improved reading comprehension scores.

You can access that post by clicking HERE.

Now a study has compared two types of activities after a memorization task in male students.

In this study, 60 male students completed a learning task and then were randomized into one of three activities for one hour. The three activities were playing a violent video game, a period of running or a control period of conversation. After the activity period, subjects completed a memory test.

Subjects had salivary cortisol levels examined before and after the learning task at at the time of memory testing. 

All subjects had a increase in salivary cortisol levels after the learning phase, but only the running group demonstrated a continued rise in cortisol after the activity phase.

The subjects participating in a running activity performed better on the memory retention test than those in the violent video game and the conversation control groups.  There was no correlation between salivary cortisol levels and memory retention. 

The authors conclude that their finding has implications for scheduling exercise during the school day for children. They recommend physical exercise following intense learning cycles to promote improved learning efficiency.

Interestingly, in the United States many schools are cutting back on physical education activities due to budget constraints. Such cutbacks may contribute to declining performance on testing metrics.

Readers with more interest in this topic can access the free full text manuscript by clicking on the DOI link in the citation below.

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Kindermann, H., Javor, A., & Reuter, M. (2016). Playing counter-strike versus running: The impact of leisure time activities and cortisol on intermediate-term memory in male students Cognitive Systems Research, 40, 1-7 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2016.01.002

How Video Games Reward the Brain: TED Video

Tom Chatfield provides an overview of how games stimulate brain reward processing. Chatfield is game enthusiast who edits the arts and books section of the UK magazine, Prospect.  Here are my notes from the TED video.
 

Chatfield begins by stating he is in awe of the power of virtual games to transfix us.

Video gaming is the fastest growing of all forms of media ($50 billion per year).

People spend enormous time and money on virtual game rewards.  Farmville has over 70 million players around the world.

The good news is this gaming teaches us about brain rewards.

Video games produce huge data sets of reward processing.

We have evolved in special ways. Here are seven ways games teach us about brain rewards.

1. Measuring progress aids reward-games use constant score updating to reward players
2. Multiple long and short-term gains--by adding complexity, gamers are less likely to become bored
3. Reward for effort-every time you get something for effort, negative feedback is not very helpful
4. Feedback is frequent, rapid and clear
5. Element of uncertainty- uncertainty of reward is a neurological and psychological gold mine.  Dopamine is the brain's reward learning chemical and is released more with unexpected reward
6. Windows of enhanced engagement-in gaming, developers use moments of enhanced memory and increased confidence
7. Social interaction-playing with other people enhances reward and is more likely to keep gamers involved in the game

These principles have implications in business.  Real time energy meters could provide immediate feedback on progress in saving energy.

Implications are important for education.  We can use game technologies to enhance learning.

Finally, in government we may learn how to reward people to change complex behaviors and combat problems like obesity.

Games teach us the the key role of engagement--how to keep people involved in tasks to promote individual and social engagement.  If we can learn from how games promote engagement, we may have something very revolutionary.

Chatfield has written a book titled Fun, Inc where he outlines how virtual games can be a good place to learn new approaches in the real world.

I think Chatfield is on to an important issue here.  Why can't we take some of the principles of popular games and apply them to things like learning algebra or organic chemistry?  So far, educational software has not progressed at the speed or complexity of video gaming.  Perhaps by learning how gamers are rewarded and engaged in virtual reality games we can provide more effective online educational software.

Photo of Juno Beach, Florida sun rise with filter from the author's private collection.