As we have seen in nearly all
subjects that we have discussed during semester, there has been shown to be
inverse relationship between exercise and neuroegeneration. I stumbled upon
this topic as I was reading Runners World magazine titled “How Running keeps
your brain humming” and this article reported to the running community the results
of a study done at Beckman
Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois.
This study claimed that after the age of 20 you begin to lose about 1% of your
hippocampus annualy, which is a part of your brain that is essential for
learning and memory. This study aimed to look at the effects of enrichment and
aerobic exercise on the hippocamous and mental function. The was conducted with
a mouse model of four different habitats each varying in enrichment. The first
cage included toys for the mouse described as a “mouse carnival” and an
abundance of rich food, the second included this with also a running wheel, the
third was an empty cage with kibble an water, and the fourth was the same as
three but included a running wheel.
After
studying these mice for several months, they measured brain function with a
series of cognitive tests an also measured brain structure. Their findings
revealed that the amount of “enrichment” did not make any difference in the
mice’s brains, but the mice with running wheels performed significantly better
on cognitive tests and had overall healthier brains. Upon further looking up
the exact study the results stated that running in these mice lead to a two
fold increase in the number of BRD-U
positive cells, which was a technique to mark cells that were dividing, and total
number of new neurons, indicating overall hippocampal neurogenesis.
I found this to be very exciting and
encouraging for those of us that are physically active, and it gave me another
nudge of encouragement to get out of bed this morning to go running. While we all know there are countless reasons
to exercise to improve our overall health, I belief that this data is overall
very promising as a way of implementing overall mental health. While many
challenges present in getting the population to all partake in aerobic
exercise, this is a promising method for prevention of neuro-degeneration for
those at are actively seeking preventative measured.
Mustroph ML, Chen S, Desai SC,
Cay EB, DeYoung EK, Rhodes JS. Aerobic exercise is the critical variable in an
enriched environment that increases hippocampal neurogenesis and water maze
learning in male C57BL/6J mice. Neuroscience.2012;219:62–71.
Parent, Marc. "How Running Keeps Your
Brain Humming." Runner's World & Running Times. Rondale
Inc, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
Hi Amy, I really enjoyed your discussion on exercise and hippocampus neurogenesis. For the most part, it seems that exercise is beneficial. But what happens when a person overexerts himself constantly, like in the case of an elite athlete? Is it still beneficial at that point, or does it instead contribute to early signs of aging, due to the extreme amount of stress placed on the body? It would be interesting to see the addition o f a mouse cage with a mouse forced to run on the wheel for prolonged periods of time, and then observe hippocampus growth/deterioration.
ReplyDeleteAmy, this was a great topic to discuss. We have talked numerous times about how exercise can improve our health as a whole, but we have not really touched base on effects regarding the brain as much. I have heard that exercising can be beneficial towards memory, but to see a study that actually shows this correlation is enlightening. I also wonder how often the mice ran on the wheel and the duration of each running period or total time for that day that led to this 2 fold increase.
ReplyDeleteAmy, great post. I find studies that correlate lifestyle change with overall disease prevention to be very interesting. My first thought after reading this post was maybe the aerobic exercise itself wasnt actually the cause of the the increase in proliferation of the neurons. Personally I find exercise to be relaxing. I wonder if the stress reduction of exercise could be the actual cause of these findings. I think that could also explain why the enrichment didnt help, as that could have been overstimulating/stressful for the mice. I would be interested to see if a further study was done to create an experimental design that reduced stress in the mice. That way if the results of the exercise study were reproduced stress reduction could be shown to be the protective mechanism.
ReplyDeleteThis study is actually very motivating. I feel like plenty of the other effects of a sedentary lifestyle feel far away. Seeing that statistic of losing 1% of the hippocampus every year after 20 makes it very close to home. One of the main things I don’t want to lose is brain function, especially that early.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy! I have to say, I really enjoyed your article. I'm completely packed this semester what with school, clubs, volunteering, work, church and so many other responsibilities that I haven't been able to make as much time as I'd like for exercising. But reading your article has given me a great deal of motivation in wanting to try harder in making time to exercise. No excuses, you know? Cause we, after all, only have one brain and one body so we might as well take care of it while it's still in relatively decent shape and health ^^ Again, thanks for the article!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this article! While reading this I kept thinking if exercise is something that is so beneficial that it can even heighten cognitive development then running is something we should really push in schools. I know personally I played soccer all my life so running is something I feel that I "need" to do in my present day life; if children were exposed to running in a positive light up to high school (not just the mile run) then it would really lead to a healthier (smarter) America because chances are those children will want to continue those habits. I love articles that show that something so simple can really affect an individuals life in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your thoughts and comments. I too found this article and study to be very positive and promising, but this is coming from someone who is relatively active. The importance of activity at a young age needs to be better encouraged as you mentioned Anaiz to promote overall better brain health. Promoting a heathy society is something that has received a lot of focus in the recent press and news for many other disease, but the brain and its health aren't commonly one of them.
ReplyDeleteJohn I thought your point on the effects of overexertion on the brain would be an interesting aspect to look into further. A study with a forced running model in mice would probably present very different data as the mice are under different stress and exertion.
Joel your thought on the effects of stress reduction could definitely be a large impact on the mental health. With my own experience I would think that the effects of aerobic exercise physiologically on the body and as a stress reduction would both play a significant role in your overall health.
As you mentioned Syndney this article definitely put the importance of exercise into my mind. I know throughout my college career, working out has always come second to that extra hour of studying. This article helped me to realize that maybe that hour wold be better spend exercising if over time it would improve my learning and memory.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, Amy! The question brought to my mind is similar to John's. I exercise only moderately in a purely aerobic fashion by regularly biking and walking to campus and between classes. John asked about elite athletes experiencing diminishing returns or even negative effects. I want to know what happens on the other end of the exercise spectrum - maybe using the same experimental set up they could have one test group who has access to a running wheel for only certain hours of the day or certain days of the week.
ReplyDeleteI deleted my comment and reposted to fix a typo.
Great post Amy! I find myself drawing parallels between enrichment in mouse cages to decoration and entertainment in human habitats. Humans that have art, decorations, expensive furniture, video game consoles, televisions and video services might end up getting less health benefits out of the stuff we think we enjoy than out of going for a walk. It's fun to see a study with such clear, easy to draw implications for human health.
ReplyDeleteHey Amy, great post. As someone who has been a runner their entire life this is good news! I wonder what the actual mechanism behind exercise and prevention from neurodegeneration is. The fact that we lose about 1% of our hippocampus each year past the age of 20 is rather frightening... in a way, this means that each of us is already on our cognitive decline.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely is motivational for further reasons to be active and exercise. I definitely believe that exercise is one of the best preventions and treatments for many many things. I've found that I get sick closer to times like finals week when stress is at a high and I don't have time to go exercise everyday. As far as exercise as a treatment, physical therapy as recovery from injuries is extremely successful and my experience with it due to past injuries is why I am going into that field for graduate school.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post as we train for the Phoenix half, and also gave me some encouragement for my run today ;) I understand how the study came to be because of that "runner's high" you receive after exercising. Even after a moderate run I feel more alert and focused to my surroundings, which prepares me for my day. Although I've never performed a cognitive test after a run, it makes sense that one would perform better on it. This is just another example of why exercise is so important for the body and mind.