The Relation Of Aerobic Fitness To Learning And Memory: A Pilot Study

PURPOSE: Aerobic fitness is an important factor in cognitive and brain health across the lifespan. Studies have shown that higher fit (HF) older adults outperform their lower fit (LF) peers across a number of cognitive tasks. However, further research is needed to better understand the effects of fitness on learning and memory during aging. The aim of this pilot investigation was to examine the relationship between fitness, learning, and memory in older adults using a task in which participants learn and recall regions of a fictional map by utilizing different encoding and recall strategies. METHODS: Twenty-eight 65-80-year-old adults ((n = 14 HF; 71.71 ± 0.64 years old, 7 females) and (n = 14 LF; 72.70 ± 1.13 years old, 6 females)) completed a map learning and recall task. Different learning strategies were utilized, including a Test-Study condition (TS) in which participants were tested repeatedly while learning the regions, and a Study-Only condition (SO) in which participants only studied the regions. After a 24-hour period, participants were asked to recall the regions using two different recall conditions, including a cued recall (CR) and free recall (FR) conditions. RESULTS: Consistent with the literature, findings revealed a main effect of recall condition, such that participants performed better in CR than in FR (p < 0.001). Further, there was a trend between fitness and learning strategy and a trend between fitness and recall condition, such that HF participants outperformed LF participants in the CR condition (p = 0.08), as well as for region names learned using the SO strategy (p = 0.057). Importantly, when participants learned region names in the TS condition, there were no differences in recall performance across groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that higher aerobic fitness is related to better memory performance in older adults, particularly when items were studied without a specific strategy and via cued recall. These data suggest that certain lifestyle factors, such as aerobic fitness, may benefit health outcomes in aging adults.