This article looks at the effects of exercise on motor learning
What’s the deal?
Regular exercise has known benefits on brain function and learning. Can a single exercise session improve learning of fine motor skills?
What did they do?
48 volunteers were given time to practice a task, consisting of accurately tracing a wavy line (double sine wave) on a computer using a joystick. One group underwent 20 minutes of intense cycling exercise before practicing and the control group rested instead. They were then tested on their line tracing accuracy after 1 hour, 24 hours and 7 days.
What happened?
The exercise group were significantly more accurate at line tracing compared to the control group. The biggest change was seen when participants were tested after 7 days, with about a 33% reduction in mistakes on average. When participants in a third group exercised after practicing the task instead, they had even better results, with an approximate 60% reduction in mistakes after 7 days.
What can you tell me about the people?
All participants were right-handed males, with an average age of 24 years. They were regarded as healthy, with an average BMI of 22.5 and good VO2 max values of 53 on average.
What else should I know?
The intense cycling exercise was similar to a HIIT session. The tracing task (visuomotor accuracy) examines hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, both much needed skills in a wide range of daily functions, from playing sports to performing surgery.
What will I do differently?
Assuming this applies to learning and performance of skills beyond line tracing, I wish I had known this earlier in my life. Think how valuable this could be for children learning to write, or play sports, or even play musical instruments.
Acknowledgements
This research was published in September 2012 by M Roig and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
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Abstract Athlete 