It’s well established that exercise profoundly alters the human brain that affects both thinking and emotions.
A recent study of multiple aspects found that exercise might cause more complicated effects than previously thought. The frequency and type of exercise you perform and the genetic makeup of your brain, could influence your ability to fully reap the benefits to your mood and cognitive of exercise. The study, that was published in Neuroscience researchers from the department of neuroscience and psychology at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., recruited 54 adults, aged between 18 and 36 who were part of the college and the community surrounding. The participants were healthy, however mostly sedentary, and none exercised regularly. Gretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness. They completed questionnaires regarding their health and mood, as well as how anxious they felt at the time. They also submitted blood to be tested for genetics. In the past, studies had revealed that exercise could increase the brain-derived neurotropic factor, also known as BDNF. This protein is believed to be the reason for the positive effect exercise has on thinking. Some individuals are more likely to produce BDNF over others due to variations in the gene that regulates BDNF production. It is not known if they get lesser cognitive benefits from exercising. Researchers determined the BDNF gene status of each volunteer. Then, the participants were required to take an exercise in memory that consisted of images of objects displayed on the computer screen. Then, a second set of images appeared which the participants were required to record using keystrokes whether they’d ever seen that particular image previously. David Bucci, an associate professor at Dartmouth of brain and psychology sciences explained that this job requires a different brain region than the one utilized in memory and Web Treasurehunter exercise studies. According to him, other research studies concentrate on the effects of exercises on the brain’s main memory centre, the hippocampus. But the task of object recognition requires activation within the perirhinal cortex. It is the part of the brain that is responsible to remembering objects or things and how they relate to you. A healthy perirhinal cortex is vital in memory tasks like recalling where keys were placed (a hippocampal task). However it’s impossible to keep track of what keys are. In the end, following the tests, the participants were randomly allocated to exercise or not to exercise over the following four weeks. Half of them began the program which called for them to walk or run for 30 minutes per week. The other half were sedentary. After a month, participants returned to the lab to retest. First, some of them exercised. Half of the participants walked or ran before the test, while the other half did not. Same for the sedentary participants 50% exercised in the first time since the beginning of the study. The remaining did not. The tests for mood and memory were also repeated. In certain aspects the results were surprising. It was expected that a majority of the participants who had been working out for the last month saw significant improvements in their scores on the mood and memory tests. However, not all were successful. The memory test was the most efficient for those who exercised regularly throughout the course of the month and completed their exercise on the day of retesting. They showed less anxiety than the other volunteers. Participants who had exercised during the previous month, but not on the day of the test generally performed better in the test for memory than those who were sitting around, but they didn’t perform as well as those who trained that morning. Although working out prior to the test didn’t improve their memory scores, it did increase the anxiety levels. They were more anxious than they were on the first visit to the lab. The most intriguing aspect of the study was the analysis of the BDNF gene variations of the participants and their scores on memory. Researchers discovered that those with the variant that lowers BDNF production after exercise – an extremely common variant that is found in about 30 percent of European Caucasian heritage – did not have better memory, even when they exercised regularly. Discuss your thoughts. Join in the conversation. It’s not clear what this means to those who believe that exercising will improve their brains the way Dr. Bucci said. However it is a sign that the interplay between brainpower and physical activity is more complicated than we think. In particular, some people may be less able to recall objects if they don’t have BDNF released by their genes. The main takeaway from this study, and the ongoing research conducted in the lab of Dr. Bucci adds, is that exercise is generally beneficial to memory capacity. The individuals who improved their scores on memory tests Dr. Bucci points out most often were those who’d done a lot of exercise during the previous month and then again in the morning of the test, suggesting that there is a significant cumulative effect from the exercises Dr. Bucci says. Dr. Bucci states that there are many types memory and each one is affected by exercise. However, the results may vary from person to individual. Dr. Bucci states that “the current data strongly suggests people must be physically active” for a healthy, unporous memory over the long haul. Regularly running or walking is a good method to keep your keys in one hands.
