A recent Australian research has found that physical exercise is as important as mental activity in keeping the brain fit and healthy
The study was performed by scientists at the University of Queensland's Brain Institute. The study revealed that the mechanism by which exercise increases the number of stem cells that are actively generating new nerve cells in the brain and reverses the decline normally observed as animals age.
"We have found that growth hormone (GH) originally discovered as a potent stimulator of animal growth is increased in the brain of running animals and this stimulates the activation of new neural stem cells," Brain Institute scientist Daniel Blackmore has been quoted as saying.
The study was performed on older mice, that shows the same cognitive decline as humans, a Brain Institute statement says.
"In this model of ageing we found that the number of active neural stem cells dramatically declines with age but exercise dramatically reversed this, increasing stem cell numbers," Perry Bartlett, professor and director of Brain Institute and team leader has been quoted as saying.
"If we blocked the action of GH in the brains of these running animals, however, no such increase occurred, indicating GH was the primary regulator of this process," Bartlett commented.
"We are currently determining whether this grow GH -dependent increase in stem cell activity is able to reverse the cognitive decline seen in old animals by increasing production of new nerve cells," the professor said.
--with inputs from IANS
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