Exercise the Brain

I do believe in you And I know you believe in me Oh yeah Oh yeah

And now we realize love's not all that it's supposed to be Oh yeah Oh yeah

Knowing that you would have wanted it this way

I do believe I'm feelin' stronger every day

I Know we really tried together we had love inside Oh yeah Oh yeah

So now the time has come for both of us to live on the run Oh yeah Oh yeah

Knowing that you would have wanted it this way

I do believe I'm feelin' stronger every day Yeah, yeah, yeah

After what you've meant to me Ooh baby now I can make it easily Yeah, yeah, yeah

I know that we both agree

Best thing to happen to you the best thing that happened to me Yeah, yeah, yeah

Feelin’ stronger every day Feelin' stronger every day Feelin' stronger every

What are your ideas about exercise and the brain?

It makes our brain function at its best. This is the most important benefit of exercise, the benefit to muscles, heart, and lungs are just healthy side-effects of exercise.

Why is exercise so good for the brain?

We know that exercise increases neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

In a Duke University study it was shown that exercise was better than Zoloft (sertraline) at treating depression and other subsequent studies have shown that exercise may be one of the best treatments for most psychiatric problems. WHY?

Sea Squirt Larva have brain, it is consumed once it becomes sessile.

As we evolved, our physical skills developed into abstract abilities to predict, sequence, estimate, plan, rehearse, observe, judge, correct mistakes, shift tactics, and remember everything we did in order to survive.

“That which we call thinking is the evolutionary internalization of movement.”

Neurophysiologist, Rodolfo Llinas

rehearse

sequence

estimate

correct mistakes

observe

Includes all senses

remember

predict

planjudge

shift tactics

The relationship between the ability to obtain food, shelter, comfort, and the physical ability to obtain them through learning that has been hardwired into the brain’s circuitry. In order to survive we had to use our brains to find and store food. We needed fuel to learn and learning to find a source of fuel. We needed to move! On average 11 km per day!How about today?

1/3 of the U.S. population by 2050 will have a preventable health issue.

65% adults in our nation are overweight10% have type 2 diabetes.

Preventable health issues due to lack of exercise are becoming increasing more frequent in children.

Nationally we are cutting back on P.E.Illinois only state requiring P.E. on a daily basis.In school 5.5 hours of screen time per day per student.No or reduced recess for elementary education.

Our lack of movement is reflected in what we value in education.

Naperville School District Case Study:

School district one of the fittest in the nation3% overweight vs. 30% (national average)TIMSS (trends in Math and Science Study) tested out 6th in Math and 1st in Science.Why?

Fitness vs. Sports P. E. Only 3% of students go on to be active in sports after high school.Jr. High Teacher Phil Larson revolutionizes P.E. with fitness vs. Sports Program. Emphasizes personal best and assesses effort

Small scale sports ex. 3 on 3 basket ball, 4 on 4 soccer with the goal of movement.Graded on how much time student spent in target heart rate zone.

Early bird P.E. (called learning readiness P.E.)Incoming freshman assigned to reading comprehension literacy class have the option of taking learning readiness P.E.17% improvement in reading comprehension for L.R. P.E. students vs. 10.7% for students not in L.R.P.E.

No fist fights in 550 jr. high kids since 2000.Kansas City Mo. P.E. went from once a week to once a day and violent incidences went from 228 in one year to 95. in another inner city school discipline problems dropped 67%

Plasticity: The brain is designed so that it can change!The environment creates the impetus for change. What is your environment? What are your experiences?When we learn we change our brains.The neuron allows us to do this.

Neurons by themselves are not very powerful.Neural networks- many neurons create communication lines between them in order to create perceptions and learn new things as we “experience” lifeCommunication between neurons requires the molecules that move between them, what are they?Neurotransmitters.

The Neuron:

80% of the signals in the brain rely on two main neurotransmitters:Glutamate, which stirs up the activity and begins the cascadeGABA, which locks the brain activity down.These two neurotransmitters begin the chemical sequence of brain activity that regulates all of our behavior. In many cases they stimulate the release of many other neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitter Cascade

Regulatory neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Only 1% of the neurons produce these neurotransmitters.

They instruct other neurons to make more glutamate, alter the sensitivity of neuron dendrites, and signal other neurons to fire.

Fine tune the balance of the brain’s chemicals.

Brain ChemicalsThese are called “Factors”Most commonly called brain derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF.)They are a class of proteins.Build and maintain cell circuitry infrastructure. The best way to think of them is as fertilizer for the brain.

In the 1990’s ~ one dozen or so scientific studies done on them.Explosion of neuroscience research after 2000.5400 papers/studies done as of 2007.Why?Turns out there pretty darn important to the brain, its overall health and learning.

Learning requires strengthening the relationship (affinity) between neurons through a dynamic mechanism called long term potentiation. Building strong synapses between the neurons makes it easier for signaling/firing between them.

Glutamate (a neurotransmitter) is sent from one neuron across the synapse to the dendrites of another. If there are repeated firings, the genes inside the receiving neuron are turned on to

produce building materials for the synapse to allow

it to become permanently more receptive. The memory sticks!

If you learn a new word each day and never practice it the attraction between synapses diminishes and you forget it.Repeated activation/stimulation comes with practice. This causes the synapse to swell actually growing more brain.So where does exercise come in?

EXERCISE ELEVATES BDNF!

If you sprinkle BDNF on neurons in a petri-dish, the cells automatically sprouted new branches (synapses.)

BDNF binds receptors at the synapseActivates genes that call for more BDNF, serotonin, and proteins that build synapseBDNF builds & strengthens the neuron protecting against cell death

U of Cal Irvine: Carl Cotman director for brain aging used rats on a running wheel. (They were not forced to participate!)control vs. 2, 4, and 7 nights of running a week.Their BDNF went up relative to the amt. exercised.Their hippocampus lit up w/BDNF.

Neurogenesis:The birth of new neurons throughout our life is a

relatively new idea in neuroscience.

BDNF are great but not just by themselvesNeed something to respond to.

Challenge yourself and learn something after exercise.

Environmental enrichment study on rats, by Dr. William Greenough from U. of I. (video)

Pharmaceutical companies dream of finding the chemical pathway to induce neurogenesis. They want to put exercise into a bottle.Consider the implications?

Not just BDNF but a host of other hormones and chemicals that stimulate both neuron growth and development but also glial cell growth.

You can’t actually learn very well while exercising at a high intensity. (blood is move away from the prefrontal cortex.) But blood flow returns immediately after exercise.Find exercise that you like to do where heart rate is increased significantly. (30+minutes.) Running, swimming, biking.Mix in exercise that involves coordination: tennis, racquetball, balance drills, yoga, dance, skating, karate.

Increases alertness, attention, and motivationPrepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to one another-allowing logging of new information.Spawns the development of new nerve cells form stem cells in the hippocampus.Protects the cells from aging prematurely and death.Reduction of the effects of stress and anxietyRelief from depression.Improved concentration and performance from people diagnosed with ADHD.Eases addiction tendenciesSlows down hormonal changesSlows down the aging process

“In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with 2 means education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and one for the body, but for the 2 together. With these 2 means, man can attain perfection.” PLATO