This study was done in mice and found that mice that were exposed to stress had a decrease in long-term potentiation in the hippocampus. Long-term potentiation is the process that helps solidify the connections between neurons during memory formation. When animals were stressed but were also forced to run on a wheel, they did not experience a decrease in long-term potentiation.

Brief bursts of norepinephrine are released during exercise have been shown to increase long-term potentiation which has long-term benefits on cognition and is very relevant for brain aging.