Exercise and the Brain Karen Lindgren, Ph.D.

Strength of mind is exercise, not rest -Alexander Pope It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Goals How does exercise benefit general health? How does exercise benefit neurological health? What is the relationship between exercise, mood, health, and cognition?

FORMAT GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRAIN WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY EXERCISE – What it is – Physiology EXERCISE AND THE BRAIN – Simple connections – Complex connections

The link should be clear Our brain is a physical organ Our brain is a thinking organ

The link should be clear Exercise helps us physically strengthens: hearts, bones, lungs, blood vessels physical changes should be related to thinking changes Like our other organs, our brain is a constantly changing organ

The brain: physical organ Geography of the brain Brain basics – Neurons – Blood vessels – Neurotransmitters

Brain Geography

The brain: a thinking organ What is thinking? –Cognition refers to any mental process

What is cognition? Areas of cognition include: –Arousal/alertness – Attention/Concentration –Sensory skills –Motor skills

What is cognition? Areas of cognition include: –Language –Visual Skills –Memory – Problem solving/judgment moral reasoning

Neuroplasticity What is neuroplasticity? – Refers to the ability of the brain to shape itself according to experience – Refers to physical change on a neuronal level

Neuroplasticity What changes when we learn? – Neurons connect with other neurons Synapses strength changes with learning More synapses form between neurons Plasticity can also refer to physical change based on our health

What is exercise? Types – Cardiovascular – Weight training (resistance training) Intensity – Active lifestyle – Light – Vigorous

What happens when we exercise? Heart rate increases Endocrine system activates – Pituitary gland releases human growth hormone to increase production of bone, muscle, or connective tissue cells.

Pituitary Gland Located in brain, limbic system “Master gland” -- influences: – Thyroid: neck – Adrenal: kidneys

What happens when we exercise? Hormones respond Pituitary gland regulates thyroid gland Thyroid: releases hormones Increase heart rate and blood pressure Regulate body temperature Elevate “alertness” in brain to increase concentration and reaction time

What happens when we exercise? Hormones respond Pituitary gland regulates adrenal gland Adrenal: releases cortisol causes blood pressure to rise triggers increase in glucose acts as anti-inflammatory agent (repairs tissues) Curbs non-critical functions (e.g., thirst, urine, hunger) effects immune system

What happens when we exercise? Hormones respond Pituitary gland regulates adrenal gland Adrenal: releases aldosterone: bodily response to anticipate dehydration through impact on kidney function.

What happens when we exercise? Hormones respond Pituitary gland regulates adrenal gland Adrenal: releases adrenaline: (fight or flight) mechanism stimulant, increases strength and frequency of heart contractions. Speeds breakdown of stored carbs into glucose for muscle energy and for the brain. Enlarges our pupils

Summary: Exercise Vascular, pulmonary, and endocrine systems are activated Carbs breakdown into glucose in blood to provide energy for muscles Blood flow increases through heart rate, blood pressure to get nutrients to muscles Improved concentration and reaction time Decreased thirst, less output

SECTION BREAK GEOGRAPHY OF THE BRAIN WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY EXERCISE – What it is – Physiology EXERCISE AND THE BRAIN – Simple connections – Complex connections

Exercise and the Brain: How do we know they are linked Studies vary greatly (meta-analysis, Kramer et al) – Age, gender – Length of exercise (session length, session number) – Exercise type varies – Method of reporting varies (often self-report) – Method of reporting cognitive skill varies (e.g., MMSE screen, neuropsych, presence of dementia)

What is the link? Simple links – Simple exercise – walking– has beneficial effects – Simple mind/body benefits: mindfulness training, yoga Complex links – Prevents primary neurologic disease – Promotes healthy normal aging – Neuroplasticity – Improved mood--- improved thinking

Simple connections Exercise improves blood flow to the brain Is increased blood flow related to improved cognition?

Simple Connections Physical effects of exercise – Increased blood flow to the brain Blood volume increases Blood flow is more “predictable” Small vessels grow – increase in number – Study of 16 women aged 60 and older, walking briskly 3-4 times per week, improved blood flow up to 15 %

Simple Connections Physical effects of exercise – Brings O2, glucose, nutrients to brain cells, vital for cell health – Cell growth: supports new connections, particularly in hippocampus- memory – Blood washes away “metabolic wastes” such as “amyloid beta protein” (implicated in development of Alzheimers)

Simple connections Walking: Increases blood circulation Increased oxygen and glucose to the brain Not strenuous- muscles do not use extra oxygen and glucose as in more strenuous exercise In sum, you oxygenate your brain “Clear your head”

What is the link? Simple links – Simple exercise – walking– has beneficial effects – Simple mind/body benefits: mindfulness training, yoga Complex links – Prevents primary neurologic disease – Promotes healthy normal aging – Neuroplasticity – Improved mood--- improved thinking

Exercise prevents vascular disease Vascular disease Cholesterol lowering effects of exercise Exercise lowers blood pressure: Increased blood flow Increased vessels The health benefits decrease risk for stroke

Exercise promotes healthy aging Normal Aging – Ameliorates decline: Canadian researchers 1 examined active lifestyle for “elderly” individuals over 2-5 years, showed stability in cognitive functioning for individuals who were active, greater change if sedentary. – 90% of individuals with greatest daily energy scored consistently on tests each year – Activities included walking, cooking, cleaning – 1 Archives of Internal Medicine, 2011

Exercise promotes healthy aging Normal Aging – More specifically, women in 70’s with vascular disease showed a slower rate of cognitive decline than the active group..

Exercise promotes healthy aging Normal Aging – A second study 2 showed that light duty weight training has neurological effects. – After one year, older women who lifted 2x per week showed changes on both functional MRIs and cognitive tests. – 2 Neurobiology of Aging, 2011

Exercise promotes healthy aging Normal Aging: start early! – Mayo clinic study of 1,126 individuals with “normal cognition” (as opposed to Mild cognitive impairment) 3 – Individuals with Moderate exercise during midlife were less likely to develop impairment in later life – 3 Archives of Neurology, 2011

Exercise promotes healthy aging – Exercise prevents onset of dementia – Meta analysis of 1600 research papers examining role of exercise in perserving cognitive abilities – Conclusion: Important therapy against dementia

Exercise promotes healthy aging – “…you can make a very compelling argument for exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed.” – J. Eric Ahlskog, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist, Mayo Clinic

Exercise promotes healthy aging Other Neurologic Disease – Mild cognitive impairment (MCI): each year, 10-15% of individuals with mild cognitive impairment will develop dementia 5. – Study: 33 adults with MCI. 23 assigned randomly to aerobic group and exercised at high intensity levels for minutes per day, 4 days per week, with a trainer. Control group: 10 individuals performed supervised stretching with low heart rate. – 5 Archives of Neurology, 2011

Exercise promotes healthy aging Mild Cognitive Impairment – Found improved fitness (body fat analysis, metabolic markers) and improved cognition. – Cognitive improvements were more marked in women than men. This may be related to body’s use of insulin, glucose, and cortisol, which differed between the sexes.

Exercise promotes healthy aging Other Neurologic Disease – Parkinson’s Disease Researchers 4 followed 140,000 people with avg. age of 63 for 10 years. Moderate to vigorous activity levels were related to a 40% less chance to develop Parkinsons than those with light or no activity levels. Not clear if the relationship is focused on short term or long term (i.e., do you need to start exercising at 40?) 4 American Academy of Neurology, 2007

What is the link? Simple links – Simple exercise – walking– has beneficial effects – Simple mind/body benefits: mindfulness training, yoga Complex links – Prevents primary neurologic disease – Promotes healthy normal aging – Neuroplasticity – Improved mood--- improved thinking

Exercise and Stress Chronic cortisol release leads to detrimental effects: – Chronically high cortisol reduces dopamine Exercise initially mimics this effect Regular exercise training helps to reduce cortisol levels (e.g., a 20 minute walk ceases to be “stressful” to the body).

Mood Benefits Exercise improves stress tolerance: – Exercise causes a drop in stress hormones – Improves “resilience” to stress – Brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) “fertilizer” of the brain’s neurons Grow more quickly, develop stronger connections Associated with improved cognition, mood

Mood Benefits Exercise improves stress tolerance: – Rats assigned to 4 groups 6 : Engaged in “voluntary running” Given antidepressants Both Neither – Rats then underwent a 2-day “forced swimming” procedure – 6 California State University, 2001

Mood Benefits Exercise improves stress tolerance: – Results: BDNF levels in untreated animals were depressed Animals that were given physical training or antidepressants had BDNF restored to baseline Animals with both showed increase in hippocampal BDNF well above baseline.

Mood Benefits Improved mood improves cognition: – Exercise has an “antidepressant effect” – Antidepressant effect of running was associate with more cell growth in hippocampus 9 – 9 Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, 2010

What is the link? Simple links – Simple exercise – walking– has beneficial effects – Simple mind/body benefits: mindfulness training, yoga Complex links – Prevents primary neurologic disease – Promotes healthy normal aging – Neuroplasticity – Improved mood--- improved thinking

Does exercise foster neuroplasticity? Exercise increased growth factors in brain making it easier to grow new connections 10 Mice that ran on a wheel had twice as many new brain cells as mice housed in standard cages 11. As a comparison, provided mice with other “enriched” environments (e.g., “free swim”)- only running produced the effect. – Growth was in the hippocampus (learning and memory) – 10 UCLA, 2011 – 11 Nature Neuroscience, 1999

Does exercise foster neuroplasticity? Meta-analysis of 18 controlled studies of cognitive function and aerobic fitness for individuals aged Psychological Sciences, 2003

Does exercise foster neuroplasticity? Results: – Exercise had clear, selective cognitive benefits for attention, organization, planning – Frontal skills – Strength training combined with aerobic fitness was most effective – Exercise sessions of less than 30 minutes per session had little impact

Does exercise foster neuroplasticity? – Brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) – “fertilizer” of the brain’s neurons Grow more quickly, develop stronger connections – Associated with improved cognition, mood

Does exercise foster neuroplasticity? – Brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) – produced in the brain during endurance training – produced peripherally in resistance training, circulates to the brain – University of Florida study: 20 college aged men 14 Increased neurotrophic factors at 1, 30 and 60 minutes after endurance training 14 American College of Sports Medicine, 2010

What is the link? Simple links – Simple exercise – walking– has beneficial effects – Simple mind/body benefits: mindfulness training, yoga Complex links – Prevents primary neurologic disease – Promotes healthy normal aging – Neuroplasticity – Improved mood--- improved thinking

Cognitive exercise Cognitive exercise has similar effects Two together have strongest effects Visualizing exercise improves neuroplasticity as well Best exercise is novel tasks: at any level

Yoga is cognitive and physical Yoga, mind/body connection is good for us Yoga decreases depression, anxiety, hypertension, stress

Yoga is cognitive and physical Yoga: the research – Enhanced effects of meditation alone – Study of novice participants in a 12-week yoga training program 15 – 15 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2009

Yoga is cognitive and physical Results: – EEG changes were greater in left hemisphere – Participants experienced greater ability to activate their brain, particularly right hemisphere, through yoga – Increased blood flow in right pre-frontal cortex – Changes in amygdala, sensorimotor cortex consistent with changes in processing emotions and sensory phenomena

One last point…. Exercise improves our sleep

Conclusions Cognition is complex THINKING-MOOD-BRAIN all connected to health

Conclusions Exercise is shown to positively affect cognition in the following ways: – Improving blood circulation – Increased availability of oxygen and nutrients – Clears metabolic waste

Conclusions Exercise prevents disease: – Cardiovascular effects decrease risk of stroke – Shown to prevent Alzheimers, Parkinsons, mild cognitive impairment onset

Conclusions Regular exercise decreases our symptoms of stress (e.g., lowers cortisol) Improves resiliency Improves mood- acts as an antidepressant Increases growth of neurons in key areas: – Frontal lobes, hippocampus

Practical Advice –The Basics: –Do something –Stick with what you stick with –Every bit counts: even 20 minutes of exercise facilitates brain function

Practical Advice –The Details: -Exercise has short term effects of mood, concentration, memory and stress that last for several hours after exercise –-Moderate exercise for a six month time frame is beneficial to begin to see long term benefits

Practical Advice –The Details: -Exercise should continue with age -Exercise that encourages cognitive focus has additional benefits : find something that challenges you ( ballroom dancing, a new class, yoga, etc.) -Exercise that is interesting is also good (vary your walk!)

Special Information: Brain Injury Exercise after concussion is not recommended: – REST IS RECOMMENDED

Special Information: Brain Injury For all these reasons, exercise is important for long term recovery from a brain injury – Promotes mood – Promotes stable sleep patterns – Promotes physical health – Promotes self-efficacy, improved views of health – Promotes neurogenesis in animal models – Increased blood flow in hippocampus

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