EVIDENCE OF IMPAIRED LEARNING DURING WHOLE-BODY VIBRATION

A study of the effects of whole-body vibration on learning and memory was conducted, in which a context-dependent experimental design was used. Forty subjects completed a simple associative learning task, half during exposure to 16 Hz whole-body sinusoidal vertical vibration at 2.0 m s-2 r.m.s. and half while static. The results show that the rates of learning of the two groups differed, with that of the vibrated subjects significantly impaired. A second session, one week later, indicated that information learnt in one vibration environment could be recalled equally well in a different environment, suggesting no context-dependent effects on memory processes. © 1992.