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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04680494

Effect of Acute Physical Exercise on Memory

An increasing amount of studies show the beneficial effect of regular exercise on cognitive and brain functions and especially in the memory domain. Yet little is known of what happens within an acute bout of exercise and whether it would also yield cognitive effects. The literature clearly shows that molecules such as brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and endocannabinoids (mainly anandamide, AEA) are heavily involved in neural plasticity mechanisms and increase when we exercise hinting at possible mechanisms underlying memory improvement after exercise.

This protocol assesses the effects of acute exercise on associative and motor sequence memory, their underlying neural activations (measured using fMRI) and blood biomarkers (BDNF and AEA). A related aim is to assess the effect of exercise intensity, therefore three exercising conditions (rest, moderate intensity and high intensity) were included. Finally, a 3-month delayed retest visit is also realized to assess effects of acute exercise on long-term memory consolidation.

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Key information

Conditions

Acute Physical Exercise Behavior Motor Activity

Age range

18 year–38 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Male
  • Right-handed,
  • Exercising regularly (at least twice per week).
  • VO2max comprised between 40ml/kg/min and 65ml/kg/min.

Exclusion criteria

  • Psychiatric and neurological history

Treatment and study plan

moderate intensity physical exercise

Other

high intensity physical exercise

Other

Rest

Other

Primary outcomes

  1. cognitive measures - performance

    Time frame: Till the end of the study for each participant, i.e.3 months (long time retest)

    we measure performance during cognitive tasks. Performance is measured as percentage of correct trials, with higher percentages corresponding to better performance - measured in percentages.

  2. cognitive measures - reaction times

    Time frame: Till the end of the study for each participant, i.e.3 months (long time retest)

    we measure reaction times during cognitive tasks. For reaction times, lower measures correspond to faster response times and therefore to better outcome - measured in milliseconds.

  3. BDNF levels

    Time frame: up to 1 hour

    we measure BDNF levels before and after physical exercise and rest, measured in ng/mL of serum.

  4. endocannabinoid levels

    Time frame: up to 1 hour

    we measure endocannabinoid levels before and after physical exercise and rest, measured in ng/mL of plasma.

  5. brain activations

    Time frame: up to 1 hour

    we measure brain activations using fMRI during cognitive tasks

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Geneva, Switzerland

Other

Collaborators

  • University Hospital, Geneva

Registry information

Acronym: SPEMO

Important dates

Study start
2015
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2016
First posted
Dec 23, 2020
Registry last updated
Dec 23, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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