"Exercise seems to boost brain health in different ways, both immediately and over the long term......
It triggers the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which spurs the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with learning and memory.
That's important because the hippocampus is shrinking by about half a percent a year by the age of 55, and that shrinkage is associated with declines in learning, memory and spatial thinking.
Scientists now believe that lactate "functions as both a chemical signal and as a fuel for cells throughout the body, including brain cells" rather than a "poison which made your muscles burn during exercise".
"The lactate you produce during hard exercise fuels your brain cells and also sends a signal to activate BDNF.
The BDNF, in turn, facilitates "long-term potentiation" which essentially means that the connections between any nerves that happen to be firing will be strengthened.That implies that what you do with your brain during exercise matters because those are the neural pathways that will be reinforced"
Alex Hutchinson, The Globe and Mail, July 29, 2024
