Walking can be a good way to reduce the stress we feel in our consistent, crazy and hectic lives that we live; not only can it be a good escape from reality but it might even help us live longer and healthier. Walking, running, and other types physical exercises have been shown to improve our bone density, tone our muscles, and keep our brain healthy, long after the exercise is complete. If a simple walk can improve our cognitive abilities, and perhaps even lower our chances from developing a neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease) then it may be the key to a longer life. Jonasson, Nyberg, Kramer, Lundquist, Riklund, Boraxbekk (2017) looked at different brain structures to see if they were affected by physical activity after a 6 month physical activity intervention. The brain areas that were examined are (1) the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for storing memories; (2) the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) the area that is involved in selecting and manipulate information involved in working memory (a short term memory system); (3) ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) an area that is involved in keeping memories stored in short term memory and (4) anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) the area responsible for detecting errors in what we see (for example, seeing the word red written in blue ink would trigger this area of the brain). This study examined the influence exercise has on cognitive performance and brain structures.
The study consisted of 60 people ranging from 64-78 years old, who were all nonactive in their daily lives, who participated in a 6 month training intervention. The participants were randomly assigned to either a physical exercise group who completed exercises that would increase their oxygen intake (walking, running, and stationary bikes); whereas, the others were assigned to an active stretching and toning group that completed exercises aimed to improve muscle strength, flexibility, balance. Each of the participants before the intervention completed a physical fitness test, body composition measure, an MRI scan (which produced a powerful image of the participants brain, to determine size and volume of specific regions), filled out a questionnaire about their daily lives, and completed 21 cognitive tasks. These were completed before the intervention as a baseline for each individual person. After the intervention was completed, the participants completed the cognitive tests and MRI scan again for comparison.
The results show that the participants in the physical activity group showed higher cognitive skills, specifically executive functioning (which include functions like attentional control, cognitive inhibition, inhibitory control, and working memory) after the 6 month intervention, compared to those in the toning group. The improved cognitive skills are linked with the dlPFC thickening, which seemed to thicken with the increase oxygen intake during the daily exercise. The dlPFC, as mentioned above is important for manipulating information in working memory as well as the many operations executive functioning controls. Therefore thickening the dlPFC can improve our executive functioning. The participants in the aerobic exercise group also showed a greater hippocampus (area critical for storing memories) volume after the intervention. The increase of oxygen, during exercise was associated with the increase hippocampus volume. We can assume that exercise can actually improve our memory function—creating, storing and retrieving them when needed. The toning group improved in their processing speeds and executive functions; however, this improvement was to a lesser degree then those in the exercise group. This does suggest that exercise, even at low intensity can improve cognitive functioning.
There are many benefits that exercise has on our mind and body, and as this article shows it can increase our brain function including memory storage, and executive functioning. Exercise seems to have a broad impact on our brain, affecting many different regions and processing. Exercise might not only be a way to escape a stressful life that many of us live, but it can be a way for all of us to increase our cognitive abilities and perhaps even our intelligence. Our brains are amazing in the abilities it has, and we need to keep it healthy and active and if a simple walk can do the trick, and keep our bodies healthy then it may be the key to a long healthy life.
Jonasson, L. S., Nyberg, L., Kramer, A. F., Lundquist, A., Riklund, K., & Boraxbekk, C. (2017). Areobic exerise intervention, cognitive performance, and brain structure: Results from the physical influence on brain in agin (PHIBRA) study. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 8, 1-12.
