Running can boost your brainpower: Scientists

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Wednesday 10 Feb 2016 - 14:21 Makkah mean time-1-5-1437 Running boosts your brainpower. The Telegraph Helsinki, Finland (IINA) - Running is not only good for your body, but also boosts your brainpower, scientists have revealed. Aerobic exercise increases activity in the area of the brain responsible for learning, the hippocampus, a new study showed. And, furthermore, exercise such as running boosted the neuron reserves in the hippocampus far more than high intensity training (HIIT) or resistance training, The Telegraph online news. The study, published in the Journal of Physiology: London, was carried out by Department of Psychology and the Department of Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland. Lead researcher Professor Heikki Kainulainen said: "Aerobic exercise, such as running, has positive effects on brain structure and function, for example, the generation of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain structure important in learning. "It has been unclear whether high-intensity interval training, referring to alternating short bouts of very intense anaerobic exercise with recovery periods, or anaerobic resistance training has similar effects on hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood. " The team studied rats who underwent sustained running, HIT and resistance training Prof Kainulainen added: "The results indicate that the highest number of new hippocampal neurons was observed in rats that ran long distances and that also had a genetic predisposition to benefit from aerobic exercise. "Compared to sedentary animals, HRT rats that ran voluntarily on a running wheel had 2-3 times more new hippocampal neurons at the end of the experiment. "Resistance training had no such effect. Also the effects of HIT were minor. To conclude, only sustained aerobic exercise improved hippocampal neurogenesis in adult animals. "It may be possible to increase the neuron reserve of the hippocampus and thus improve preconditions for learning by promoting neurogenesis via sustained aerobic exercise such as running." The rats used had a genetically high response to aerobic training (HRT) and those with a low response to aerobic training (LRT). The exercise-training period was six to eight weeks running, HIT or resistance training during which control animals of the same rat strain remained in sedentary conditions in the home cage. Prof Kainulainen added: "The result is important because, according to previous research, the new hippocampal neurons produced as a result of neurogenesis are needed among other things for learning temporally and spatially complex tasks. "It is possible that by promoting neurogenesis via sustained aerobic exercise, the neuron reserve of the hippocampus can be increased and thus also the preconditions for learning improved also in humans." SM/IINA