Exercise can improve brain power

Dementia Study: People who exercise regularly can prevent memory loss and increase their brain volume

01/02/2011

Just a few but regularly performed training sessions are enough to increase specific areas of the brain responsible for mental memory. According to a recent study by the University of Pittsburgh, sport can make a significant contribution to significantly improving memory performance. Especially older patients can counteract increasing memory loss if they are actively exercising regularly.

Regular exercise increases brain volume
Regular exercise can increase the brain and effectively increase performance. The researchers report in the science magazine „PNAS“, This could be of particular benefit to older people in order to prevent age-related diseases such as dementia and diabetes. Stimulated by the active movement is mainly the hippocampus, a part of the brain, which is responsible for the memory. The hippocampus is part of the middle arch of the Limbic system. This area is steadily shrinking with age. The volume decreases from year to year by about one to two percent. This results in a relative reduction of thought and memory processes. The risk of developing dementia increases with age. That same process can slow down and. even be stopped, as the research team around Krik Erickson the „University of Pittsburgh“ to report. Light but regular sports exercises can stop the hippocampal removal process and increase brain function again.

Study with volunteers of older age group
In the comparative study, the researchers studied 120 women and men aged 55 to 80 years. Before starting the study, all participants showed no diagnostic evidence for impending senile dementia. Before the study started, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to analyze the brain size of all subjects. Thereafter, all study participants were divided into two equal groups. One study group received an easy-to-follow sports training plan, and the second group had to do stretching exercises every day without being physically exhausted.

In the course of the study, the brain size was measured again after half a year and then again after half a year. The researchers found that those who performed light aerobics exercise routinely showed relative enlargement of the hippocampus. On average, the area in the brain grew by about two percent after one year of study. In the second group, which performed only strains, the hippocampus shrank by an average of 1.4 percent. Researchers have thus found it proven that the brain shrinks by one to two percent annually, while sustained and regular active exercise increases brain volume.

Messenger substance protects neurons and creates new synapses
The research results show impressively that even in advanced age it is not too late to start sports. The scientists can only make assumptions about the exact reasons for this. Thus, the researchers discovered in the blood samples of the first group conspicuously significantly increased levels of the messenger BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF provides protection for existing neurons and promotes the growth of new synapses. In addition, apparently the signal substance plays an important role in the promotion of memory processes. In the journal "Proceedings" of the National Academy of Sciences (PNA), the research team called for a daily sports program. The study shows that a lack of exercise promotes the development of diseases. On the other hand, those who regularly exercise and do sports reduce the risk of illness. (Sb)

In Germany, around 1.2 million people currently suffer from dementia. Due to the demographic change researchers suspect that the occurrence of the disease is likely to have doubled in 50 years. The findings of the study could also be used to provide sufferers with a training plan to reduce the progression of the disease. However, further studies would have to follow. (Sb)

Also read:
More than every third German is demented
Dementia and Alzheimer's
Dementia becomes a common disease
Age dementia in Germany on the rise
Alzheimer's: Vitamin B can prevent dementia
Men more often affected by memory impairment

Image: Dieter Schütz