Treat the Brain Like Muscle

Talk:  Art Kramer on the neural effects of exercise. 

                Like Art Kramer,  writer Rebecca Bragg believes that physical exercise improves mental and neurological function throughout all stages of life.  This is founded on the theory that exercise triggers a kind of "domino effect" that starts with the release of chemicals that support increased blood flow.  In turn, this causes the brain to perform more efficiently in a multitude of ways.  

                In her article What Does Exercise Do to the Brain?, Bragg breaks her argument into four sections.  The first section analyzes how physical exercise protects against neurological damage.  Research has shown that people who exercise regularly may be at a dramatically reduced risk of contracting serious disabling brain diseases.  Published in the 2006 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, a six year study involving 1,740 adults showed that those who exercised three or more times a week had a 40% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. 

                In her second section, Bragg argues that physical activity enhances the ability to learn and remember by triggering the creation of new neurons in the brain.  Carl W. Cotman of the University of California at Irvine found that cognitive improvements in rats who had unlimited access to running wheels lasted for seven days after they stopped exercise.  He also found that improvements in memory and learning ability in animals that exercised everyday and animals that exercised on alternate days were the same. 

                In her third section, Bragg discusses how physical exercise can help alleviate depression, anxiety and other mood disorders.  One study, conducted by the Southwestern Medical Cneter in Dallas found a reduction of approximately 50% in symptoms of depression among adults age 20 to 45.  These subjects participated in a 30-minute aerobic workout three to five times a week. 

                In her last section, Bragg addresses the theory that physical exercise allows for the reversal of age-related brain impairment.  While protecting against neurological disease, a series of studies published in October 2008 edition of British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested that exercise may even reverse some of the age-related damage to learning and memory.   The lead author of this piece was actually Art Kramer.  Although the claims made by this study remain controversial, it generated worldwide media interest. Kramer reports that they can "safely argue that an active lifestyle with moderate amounts of aerobic activity will likely improve cognitive and brain function, and reverse the neural decay frequently observed in older adults".

                Sources:

                Bragg, Rebecca. "What Does Exercise Do To The Brain?" PositScience. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web.