email this article to a friend
printer friendly version
view all opinions on this
write an opinion on this
A new study has found that exercise stimulates the growth of neurons,
even the injured neurons.
You can read about this study in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Scientists say that this latest study will help them better understand
how neurons make or sever connections based on usage synaptic
plasticity.
The scientists studied rats. They observed the growth of sensory
neurons as they ran on running wheels for periods of three to seven
days. They also studied a group of rats that did not exercise at all.
The rats that had been running had neurons that had grown longer
neurites (neuritis are a type of extension) than the inactive rats.
The lengths of the neuritis were directly linked to the amount of
exercise the rats did. The more they ran the longer their neurite
length.
