State-dependent Memory Produced by Aerobic Exercise

In a free recall experiment, participants learned lists of words in two physiological states: at rest and while exercising aerobically on a bicycle ergometer. Recall of the words was required in either the state consistent with learning or in the alternative state. Word lists learned during aerobic exercise were recalled best during aerobic exercise and vice versa. Greater changes in heart rate in the changed state conditions were associated with greater retrieval decrements. Recall levels for words both learned and recalled at exercise were equivalent to those for words both learned and recalled at rest. This finding rules out the possibility that exercise per se interfered with the original learning. The study is consistent with the view that state-dependent memory should be viewed as a particular form of cue-dependent memory.