Muscle Memory

 

Interesting post from the NY Times regarding exercise and muscle memory.

 

But the Copenhagen scientists wanted to see how exercise influences the development and consolidation of physical memories. So before having their volunteers master the squiggle test, they first had a third of the group ride a bicycle at an intense but not exhausting pace for 15 minutes. The other two-thirds of the group rested quietly during this time.

 

Then, after the computer motor-skill testing, a third of those who'd previously rested completed the same strenuous 15-minute bike ride. The others rested.

 

All of the volunteers then repeated the follow-that-squiggle test after an hour, a day and a week, to see how well they'd learned and remembered that particular skill.

 

Their scores for speed and accuracy of squiggle shadowing were almost identical at the one-hour point, although the group that had ridden the bicycle after the first computer practice session was a bit less accurate.

 

After a week, though, things looked different. The men who had exercised just after first learning the motor skill were noticeably better at remembering the task, with their tracing of the red line on the computer more agile and accurate. The men who'd exercised before learning the new skill were not quite as adept now, although they were better than those in the group that hadn't exercised at all.

 

Consolidating a memory is not instantaneous, after all, or even inevitable. Every memory must be encoded and moved from short-term to long-term storage. Some of those memories are, for whatever reason, more vividly imprinted than others.

 

It may be that physical, aerobic exercise performed right after a memory has been formed intensifies the imprinting, Dr. Roig says. It makes the memory stronger.

 

As an avid cyclist, I often take off after doing something complex on system as a means of getting away from bits and photons and have found that remembering complex actions done a few days before is easier to do if I ride right after doing the deed in question. Maybe it's because cycling tends to be a lot more fun then trolling for the right bits while trying to do the next great thing prior to the next ride yours truly will take in order to help remember if I did the next great thing or not. :)