Exercise Builds the Brain

Since the 1960s, scientific research has revealed that adult brain cells can regenerate – a process known as neurogenesis.  Suk-Yu Yau, from China Medical University Hospital (Taiwan), and colleagues have discovered that neurogenesis in linked to the benefits of exercise as a stress reducer. In that previous research has shown that exercise can improve mood and cognition and has also demonstrated that a deficit in adult neurogenesis may result in depressive disorders, the team’s examined the relationship between exercise as a way of combating stress and the possibility that exercise may promote neurogenesis. According to the researchers, one important adult brain area that is a “neurogenic zone” is the hippocampus, an area involved in memory and emotional regulation. The role of new neurons in hippocampal functions is not well defined, but the team reports that: “Recent findings suggest that hippocampal neurogenesis plays a role in the beneficial effects of exercise in countering stress.”