How Exercise Benefits the Brain

Researchers in Ireland recently conducted a study regarding the correlation between exercise and brain activity. A group of young adults were asked to participate in a study where they each take a brain teaser where they are showed a series of pictures of other people with names. Soon after, they repeated the procedure only now the names of those people were not available and the men were asked to regurgitate as many names as they could remember. Soon after, half of the strangers rode a bicycle until they were exhausted and took the same test over again. Only this time, the half of the students who biked, scored much higher than during their previous trial and better the their stationary peers. After further analysis and tests, scientists discovered increased levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in those who exercised strenuously.

This form of experiment has been repeated previously in the Brain Injury Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles on rats. Adult rats were trained to exercise strenuously for weeks and expressed more BDNF content in their brain than in sedentary rats. Also, scientists at Stanford University utilized aged, experienced pilots from 40 to 65 years old. They were asked to operate a flight simulator on three separate occasions over two years. The performance decreased but the results were nonetheless expected. However, one particular group of the pilots displayed a significant reduction in scores worse than their peers. These pilots unfortunately carried a common genetic variation which seems to reduce BDNF activity in their brains. This could prove why humans lose the ability to perform well in skilled tasks, such as driving, as we age. More specific effects of BDNF in the brain are still being researched by scientists since the topic is relatively new and not well understood.

Overall this article was quite intriguing since it advises me, along with other college students, to exercise to stimulate brain activity in class. It poses real world benefits in my life.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/how-exercise-benefits-the-brain/?ref=health