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Exercise
Gets Blood to Your Brain
Exercise fanatics may be right -- getting out and moving
increases blood flow in the brain, U.S. researchers said.
Tests on monkeys show that exercise helps foster blood vessel
development in the brain, making the animals more alert
than non-exercisers.
"What we found was a higher brain capillary volume
in those monkeys who exercised than in those monkeys who
did not," Judy Cameron of the divisions of Reproductive
Sciences and Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science
University said in a statement.
"Specifically, changes were most noted in older animals
that were less fit at the start of the study," she
added in a statement.
"The next step of this research is to determine whether
other areas of the brain undergo physical changes. For instance,
how are brain cells affected and does that impact cognitive
performance."
Cameron, who presented her findings to a meeting of the
Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans, said the findings
should help explain why exercise also seems to make people
more alert.
"While we already know that exercise is good for the
heart and reduces the incidence of obesity, this study shows
exercise can literally cause physical changes in the brain,"
she said.
"Furthermore, we believe the study results show exercise
causes a person to be more engaged and provides another
reason for Americans to make physical activity part of their
daily regimen. This is especially true in the case of older
Americans with whom decline in mental function over time
is a common occurrence."
For their study they separated 24 monkeys into three groups.
One group exercised on treadmills for a set distance five
days a week. A second group did not exercise, and a third
group exercised for 20 weeks and then remained sedentary.
They measured the volume of small blood vessels, called
capillaries, in the motor cortex region of the brain in
all three groups of monkeys.
They also ran several tests on the monkeys' mental abilities.
In one, a treat is placed under two toys. After a brief
delay, the monkey was allowed to find the treat.
Exercisers were "more aroused, alert and engaged,"
Cameron said, although they did not find the treats any
faster.
Article Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: N/A
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