Exercise and Cognition

The fact that physical exercise is excellent for our general well-being is something we all know. What many of us ignore is that physical activity is also fantastic for the human brain.

In brain anatomy, the Cerebellum is the portion of the brain (located at the back) which helps coordinate movement (balance and muscle coordination).

Sitting hours on end, passive in front of the TV is not the smartest choice or the best you can do for your brain. Here scientists present the evidence that a healthy human being is a human doing. Even when sitting in front of a computer can be good brain training, you should take the time to have some real physical activity most days of the week.

Recent evidence is shedding light on the mechanisms possibly impacting cognitive performance following the participation in exercise. Literature has demonstrated increased hemodynamics within the brain, changes in neurotransmitters, and increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor that stimulates neurogenesis, and resistance to further injury.

Brain chemistry reveals an essential unity of mind and body. Neurons not only contact other neurons, they also connect with skeletal muscles, at a specialized structure called the neuromuscular junction. There the brain uses acetylcholine – its primary chemical neurotransmitter for memory and attention – to communicate with muscles.

Another of the brain's key chemical messengers, dopamine, helps regulate fine motor movement. The role of these neurotransmitters in regulating movement underscores the intimate relation between body and mind, muscle and memory. In fact, many bodyworkers find that deep massage can trigger the release and awareness of powerful, long-held emotional memories.

Physical activity presents a physiological stress to the brain that, when balanced with recovery, promotes adaptation and growth, preserves brain function, and enables the brain to respond to future challenges. Physical activity has been shown to enhance learning and memory in animals and to delay or prevent cognitive decline in elderly humans.

Studies show that exercise benefits learning, memory, and cognitive ability in numerous ways. Evidence from animal research suggests that exercise causes gross structural and vascular plasticity (or adaptive brain modifications), enhances brain activity, and modulates important neurotransmitter systems.

Aerobic activity also stimulates the release of neuronal growth factors (molecules that help neurons survive and thrive), promotes synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation (dynamic modifications of the connections between neurons), and stimulates the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus (a brain region primarily involved in learning and memory).

Exercise boosts brain power and enhances the capacity for learning. This occurs because “Physical activity presents a physiological stress to the brain that, when balanced with recovery, promotes adaptation and growth, preserves brain function, and enables the brain to respond to future challenges.”

References:

• The human brain; The Franklin Institute Online.
• Physically Active Play and Cognition; Jacob Sattelmair and John J. Ratey.
• Pathways towards and away from Alzheimer's disease; Mattson MP
• Exercise induces BDNF and synapsin I to specific hippocampal subfields; Shoshanna Vaynman
• The relation of aerobic fitness to Stroop Task performance in preadolescent children; Buck, Sarah M., Charles H. Hillman, and Darla M. Castelli.