Physical neuroeducation: Effects of aerobic exercise on alternating attention, planning and visuoconstructive memory in university students

Abstract

Introduction: There are numerous reports of the positive effects of physical exercise on various cognitive variables such as attention, mental flexibility, memory, inhibitory control, etc. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of an aerobic exercise session on alternating attention, planning and visual constructive memory in physical education students from a university in Santiago de Chile. Methodology: Quantitative with a quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of physical education pedagogy students, where 15 were the control group was 15, and 20 subjects were the experimental group. The instruments used were the symbols and digits test of Smith, Tower of Hanoi and Rey Complex Figure Test. Results: There was significative improvement in the experimental group: alternating attention (p=0.018), at the time of the planning test (p=0.005), visuoconstructive memory (p=0.000). Conclusions and Recommendations: Aerobic exercise improves attention, memory, and planning functions, which could promote the line of study of neurophysical education, so it is suggested within the projections to investigate with different intensities, age ranges and other cognitive variables.