Original Article: Exercise Can Erase Memories
Article Source: www.the-scientist.com
Published: May 8, 2014
Written by: Ruth Williams
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| Creative Commons-Licensed Image of Neurons |
N.O.S. Themes:
- Science is collaborative - scientists worked together on this experiment and coming to a conclusion
- Science is based on evidence - evidence was collected from an experiment and a conclusion was made on that
- Role of credibility - research was conducted at a credible university
- Conflicts in science community - other previous research has shown that those neurons actually aid learning and memorization
- Role of change - as knowledge and technology advances, so does science – new discoveries could lead to new inventions or ways to aid humans
- Role of motivation/curiosity - curiosity about the effect of physical activity on memory led to this research which led to the conclusion the scientists came to
Thoughts: This was a very interesting study– just an interesting topic in general. I believe, however, that further studies must be done to determine if exercise really has that much of an effect on memory. There were too many other variables in this experiment. The article didn't go into too much detail about the actual experiment, but I noticed some uncontrolled variables that would effect the results they got. Also, because repetition is important, I believe that other studies around the same subject should be done because A) mice might react differently than humans B) it might depend on the type/amount of exercise and C) it could also depend on what it is they needed to "remember". I am curious about what other similar studies have been done on this topic.
Post Published: May 8, 2014 (11:15pm)
By: Julia Garbuz (hour 2)
I thought that this article was very interesting. People always say how exercise is not only good for your body but good for you mind too, but this shows otherwise. The experiment does needs some improving, though. They should try it out with humans and see what results they get. I think that the results would show that exercise would help humans remember; humans are pretty different from mice.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. I would agree with you about more studies being needed for conclusive results though. And some of the uncontrolled variables/ research ideas don't seem to difficult to do. The first one, rats behaving different from humans, wouldn't be to hard to do. Just randomly select human samples, run a human version (more human than shocking) of the memory test they ran on the rats, and compare results. Also, I would agree with Sebastian for the most part. As a track and field runner, I don't come back after a workout and completely forget how to do basic functions. I haven't tried do homework immediately after, but maybe thats some thing I should test and see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteI think that both Sebastian and Ben are on to something with testing humans, but I think more research needs to be done before it can be tested. When comparing mice and their brain activity to humans, the range is so different. Humans are capable of a lot more, including memory of higher levels. So in my opinion, the experiment wont work the same way as it did on mice. I'm not sure that exercise can cause a human to forget a memory. It may clear your mind for better judgement, brighter ideas, or smarter decision making; but like I said before, I think more research on mice would benefit this theory.
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