Effect of exercise on neuropsychological performance in asymptomatic HIV infection

The present study examined the relationship between self-reported exercise participation both at the time of the study and prior to HIV diagnosis on neuropsychological performance of 139 asymptomatic HIV-positive men. History of exercise participation prior to diagnosis was significantly associated with performance on several neuropsychological tests and with overall impairment. After the effects of education were removed from this analysis, the groups differed only in their performance on the Grooved Pegboard Test. When stratified by current exercise participation, the groups differed only on one trial of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. These results suggest that exercise, while it may have other benefits for this population, is not associated with improved cognitive functioning.