September 9, 2007
Bob on Exercise and Adult Neurogenesis—
Say What?
By Bob Francis, Owner
soundRUNNER
My spiritual and scientific advisor, Suresh Shenoy, sent me an article from the New York Times Sports Magazine on the impact of exercise on the brains of mice and men. The article connects exercise with increased levels of adult neurogenesis, the making of new brain cells as we get older. The implication is that if you can keep cranking out neurons, the brain cells enabling you to think, you can keep the mind quick and agile later in life, avoiding the decline associated with the gradual loss of brain cells. What Suresh would have no way of knowing is that Julie and I know how to pronounce neurogenesis as a result of working at The Rockefeller University, where we knew several of the researchers who have made significant scientific discoveries in the field.
Years ago, scientists believed that the physical development of the human brain stopped early, and that the number of neurons in the brain was relatively fixed. Fernando Nottebom, whom we knew, discovered that birds learning new songs generate new brain cells at a significant rate, making up for the modest cranial capacity that gives rise to the epithet “bird brain.” Bruce McEwen learned the same about marmoset monkeys. Humans were harder to study because researchers have to slice into the brain to detect new cells. Studies involving cancer patients who gave permission for this kind of autopsy verified some level of adult neurogenesis in humans—a breakthrough.
So how does this relate to running? Neurogenesis takes place in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. This spring, neuroscientists at Columbia University in New York City published a study in which men and women age 21 to 45, began working out for one hour four times a week. After 12 weeks, the participants’ VO2 max, the standard measure of how much oxygen a person processes while exercising, rose significantly. MRIs revealed that blood also flowed at nearly double the volume to the hippocampus as it did before. Scientists suspect that the blood pumping into that part of the brain was helping to produce fresh neurons.
Quoted from the article Suresh sent me: “The hippocampus plays a large role in how mammals create and process memories; it also plays a role in cognition. If your hippocampus is damaged, you most likely have trouble learning facts and forming new memories. Age plays a factor, too. As you get older, your brain gets smaller, and one of the areas most prone to this shrinkage is the hippocampus. (This can start depressingly early, in your 30’s.) Many neurologists believe that the loss of neurons in the hippocampus may be a primary cause of the cognitive decay associated with aging. A number of studies have shown that people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia tend to have smaller-than-normal hippocampi.
The Columbia study suggests that shrinkage to parts of the hippocampus can be slowed via exercise. The subjects showed significant improvements in memory, as measured by a word-recall test. Those with the biggest increases in VO2 max had the best scores of all.”
So far in Bob’s Lane I’ve written that running makes you look better, stay healthier, live longer. Now I’ve told you running makes you smarter. Maybe one of these days Suresh will send me a scientific study explaining why running makes you better at performing sex. Don’t be concerned: Bob will keep his PG13 rating.
Archive of Bob’s Lane
Issue 1: May 1, 2007: Bob on the Bash
Issue 2: May 10, 2007: Bob on Dave Parcells
Issue 3: May 24, 2007: Bob on the Branford Road Race
Issue 4: June 1, 2007: Bob on Being Green
Issue 5: June 15, 2007: Bob from the Left Coast
Issue 6: June 23, 2007: When Pain is Leisure
Issue 7: July 6, 2007: At Seventeen
Issue 8: July 13, 2007: Bob on Cities
Issue 9: July 30, 2007: Bob on Mike
Issue 10: August 8, 2007: Bob on Nature: Nature on Endurance Running
Issue 11: August 17, 2007: Bob on What I Like
Issue 12: August 24, 2007: Bob on Running Older
Issue 13: August 31, 2007: Bob on Runners in the Raw
