Our population is leading an increasingly sedentary lifestyle resulting in increased rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Reduced physical activity not only leads to loss of physical fitness, but also to reduced cognitive performance on tasks requiring attention and memory. Indeed, students who are more physically active perform better academically, and older adults who are more physically active are at a reduced risk of developing dementia. However the mechanisms underlying these exercise-cognition interactions are still unclear. We have several ongoing projects examining the impact of exercise on cognition in younger university students as well as older community members. Our goal is to understand how exercise changes the brain to improve cognitive outcomes using a variety of neuroimaging and biomarker analyses. This research will help inform how to effectively implement an exercise program for optimizing brain function.
Cognition & Physical Activity
An individual’s aerobic physical fitness is assessed with a VO2max test. This test determines an individual’s maximum rate of oxygen consumption.
A metabolic cart is used to measure oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration of the inhaled and exhaled air during incremental exercise on a cycle ergometer.
Exercise intensity increases progressively throughout the whole test until the participant reaches exhaustion.
The EEG records the electrical activity in the brain while the participant performs a cognitive task.
Electrolyte gel is dispensed into electrodes using a blunted needle to aid signal conduction from the scalp to the electrode.
PRESS
McMaster Daily News [READ IT HERE]
"Workouts to remember: new research suggests high-intensity exercise boosts memory"
Nov 22, 2017
Spotlight on research findings of study led by Dr. Jennifer J. Heisz
The results reveal a potential mechanism for how exercise and cognitive training may be changing the brain to support cognition, suggesting that the two work together through complementary pathways of the brain to improve high-interference memory.
The Silhouette [READ IT HERE]
"Is exercise beneficial during midterm season?"
Oct 6, 2016
Expert Opinion by Dr. Jennifer J. Heisz
New research argues the time investment will increase your academic performance.
McMaster Daily News [READ IT HERE]
"What if classroom lectures included exercise breaks?"
June 30, 2016
Expert Opinion by Dr. Jennifer J. Heisz
Heisz, J. J., Ogrodnik, M., & Fenesi, B. (2019). Effects of physical activity on cognition in adults. In M. H. Anshel, S. J. Petruzzello, & E. E. Labbé (Eds.), APA handbooks in psychology series. APA handbook of sport and exercise psychology, Vol. 2. Exercise psychology (pp. 315-330). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Gibala, M., Heisz, J.J., and Nelson, A. (2018). Interval Training for Cardiometabolic and Brain Health. ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal, 22(6), 30-34.
Fenesi, B., Lucibello, K., Kim, J.A., and Heisz, J.J. (2018). Sweat so you don’t forget: Exercise breaks during a University lecture increase on-task attention and learning. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 7(2), 261-269.
Heisz, J.J., Clark, I.B., Bonin, K., Paolucci, E., Michalski, B., Becker, S., Fahnestock, M., (2017). The effects of physical exercise and cognitive training on memory and neurotrophic factors. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 29 (11): 1895-1907.
Heisz, J.J., Vandermorris, S., Wu, J., and McIntosh, A.R. (2015). Age differences in the association of physical activity, sociocognitive engagement, and TV viewing on face memory.
Health Psychology. 34(1): 83-88.
Clark, I.B., and Heisz, J.J. (2014). Synergistic benefits of combined physical exercise and cognitive training on memory. Journal of Exercise, Movement, and Sport. 46(1).
Heisz, J.J., Vakorin, V., Ross, B., Levine, B., and McIntosh, A.R. (2014). A trade-off between local and distributed information processing associated with remote episodic versus semantic memory. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 26(1):41-53.
Heisz, J.J., Pottruff, M.M., and Shore, D.I. (2013). Females Scan More Than Males: A Potential Mechanism for Sex Differences in Recognition Memory. Psychological Science. 24(7):1157-63
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
National Geographic
"Face-to-Face"
February 2014
Expert Opinion by Dr. Jennifer J. Heisz
The article discusses research from kinesiologist Jennifer Heisz of McMaster University in Canada involving the ability of men and women to remember faces, with information on the eye movements of each gender, how the brain memorizes visual information, and memory loss treatment.
NBC News [READ IT HERE]
"Women are better at remembering new faces (and here's how we do it)"
June 6, 2013
Dr. Jennifer J. Heisz | Associate Professor | Department of Kinesiology | Ivor Wynne Centre, Room E206 | McMaster University | 1280 Main Street West | Hamilton, Ontario L8S4L8