How quickly do we experience the benefits of exercise? A new University
of Maryland study of healthy older adults shows that just one session of exercise
increased activation in the brain circuits associated with memory – including
the hippocampus – which shrinks with age and is the brain region attacked first
in Alzheimer’s disease.
“While it has
been shown that regular exercise can increase the volume of the hippocampus,
our study provides new information that acute exercise has the ability to
impact this important brain region,” said Dr. J. Carson Smith, an associate
professor of kinesiology in the University of Maryland School of Public Health
and the study’s lead author.
The study is published in the Journal of the International
Neuropsychological Society.
Dr. Smith’s
research team measured the brain activity (using fMRI) of healthy participants
ages 55-85 who were asked to perform a memory task that involves identifying
famous names and non famous ones. The action of remembering famous names
activates a neural network related to semantic memory, which is known to
deteriorate over time with memory loss.
This test was
conducted 30 minutes after a session of moderately intense exercise (70% of max
effort) on an exercise bike and on a separate day after a period of rest.
Participants’ brain activation while correctly remembering names was
significantly greater in four brain cortical regions (including the middle
frontal gyrus, inferior temporal gryus, middle temporal gyrus, and fusiform
gyrus) after exercise compared to after rest. The increased activation of the
hippocampus was also seen on both sides of the brain.
“Just like a
muscle adapts to repeated use, single sessions of exercise may flex cognitive
neural networks in ways that promote adaptations over time and lend to
increased network integrity and function and allow more efficient access to
memories,” Dr. Smith explained.
Source: https://myfusimotors.com/2020/03/12/exercise-activates-memory-neural-networks-in-older-adults/
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