Learn a song, then RUN

As anyone who has ever learned to ride a bike knows, repetition leads to something we all like to call muscle memory. Muscles respond to inputs sent from the brain, where patterns of movement are formed and stored. Muscle memory, or motor memory, develops when bodily movements are continuously repeated, and the movement itself feels automatic. With enough repetition, playing a song on a guitar could become motor memory- where the player's fingers move automatically to strike the right cord.

Gary Marcus attempts to become musically adept in his novel "Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning". He worked his fingers in such a way that playing a song was in some sense motor memory. Indeed, slow, patient, and repetitious practice contributed to his relative success of playing the guitar. But a recent study published by scientists at the University of Copenhagen demonstrates that exercise could also play a large role in the development of motor memory, such as the motor movements involved in playing a guitar. 

It is generally known in the scientific community that exercise has a positive impact on cognitive brain functions. Researchers in Copenhagen questioned if exercise also had any impact on the motor control centers of the brain as well. They hypothesized that exercising before motor practice would "improve the acquisition of the motor skill and that exercise after practice would mainly optimize its retention" (Roig, et al).

In their experiment, they had a collection of healthy, young, right-handed men master a certain tracking skill on a computer screen. Using a joystick-like controller with their right hand, they had to trace a red squiggle on the computer screen, remaining as close to the squiggle as possible. This task applied inputs from both the mind and muscles. Each test subject repeated the tracing task multiple times until it became automatic for them, or short-term muscle memory.

But for 1/3 of the test subjects, the scientists had them complete a rigorous 15-minute bike ride  before performing the tracing task. For a separate 1/3 of the test subjects, the scientists had them perform the same rigorous work out right after their initial performance of the tracing task . All of the test subjects repeated the tracing task one hour later, one day later, and one week later.

The results were definitely interesting. The men's performance did not significantly vary after one hour. But when they performed the tracing task one week later, the men who had exercised right after their first tracing of the squiggle had noticeably better muscle memory. Their movements were more accurate and fluid. The men who exercised beforehand were not as agile, however they did have better muscle memory than the group who hadn't exercised at all. Thus, Marc Roig, the lead researcher at Copenhagen, concluded that "physical exercise may help the brain to consolidate and store physical or motor memories".

Exercise may not have affected motor memory in short-term situations, but it is evident that physical activity after learning a motor skill will positively impact long-term motor memory. It would be interesting to see how Marcus' guitar- playing skills developed if he had integrated a steady workout after each practice session. Would the process have quickened if he learned to play a song and then ran?

Reynolds, Gretchen. "How Exercise Can Help You Master New Skills." Well. The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/how-exercise-can-help-you-master-new-skills/?ref=research>.

Roig, Marc, Kasper Skriver, Jesper Lundbye-Jensen, Bente Kiens, and Jens Bo Nielsen. "A Single Bout of Exercise Improves Motor Memory." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 04 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433433/>