EXERCISE IMPROVES LEARNING
& MEMORY
Chalk up another
benefit for regular exercise. Investigators from the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute (HHMI) have found that voluntary running boosts the growth of new
nerve cells & improves learning & memory in adult mice.
“Until recently it was
thought that the growth of new neurons, or neurogenesis, did not occur in
the adult mammalian brain,” said Terrence Sejnowski, an HHMI investigator
at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. “But we now have evidence for
it, & it appears that exercise helps this happen.”
“These observations
support the idea that exercise enhances the formation & survival of new
nerve cells as well as the connections between nerve cells, which in turn
improves long-term memory.”
In future experiments, Sejnowski & his colleagues
will follow individual mice to see whether longer running times generate
more new nerve cells & stronger long-term potentiation. They will also
explore if other factors, such as hormones released by exercise, influence
memory & nerve cell growth. “We
still don’t have the causal link between exercise & neurogenesis,” said
Sejnowski. Source: http://www.hhmi.org/news/sejnowski.html
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