In a 2009 study, scientists made two groups of mice swim a water maze, and then in a separate trial subjected them to an unpleasant stimulus to see how quickly they would learn to move away from it. Then, over the next four weeks they allowed one group of mice to run inside their rodent wheels, an activity most mice enjoy, while they forced the other group to work harder on minitreadmills at a speed and duration controlled by the scientists. They then tested both groups again to track their learning skills and memory. Both groups of mice improved their performances in the water maze from the earlier trial. But only the extra-worked treadmill runners were better in the avoidance task, a skill that, according to neuroscientists, demands a more complicated cognitive response. The mice who were forced to run on the treadmills showed evidence of molecular changes in several portions of their brains when viewed under a microscope, while the voluntary wheel-runners had changes in only one area. Our results support the notion that different forms of exercise induce neuroplasticity changes in different brain regions, Chauying J. Jen, a professor of physiology and an author of the study, said. Similar results have meanwhile been found for humans.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 08:42:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015