A single session of high intensity aerobic exercise can change the brain #Cognitive_Function #Running

A single session of exercise effects the neural connectivity of a person.

We know from previous research that regular ongoing exercise promotes structural brain changes. Changes that may reverse the declining effects of aging and improve cognitive functioning, among other benefits.

Researchers Rajab, Crane, Middleton, Robertson, Hampson & MacIntosh (2014) examined the single session exercise neural connectivity effect that, over time, can accumulate to have a long-term impact. Their study was conducted using a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as a neuroimaging marker to show brain changes with single session exercise.

Single session aerobic exercise showed increased co-activation, after exercise, in the central and parietal lobes (operculum cortices), a region involved in somatosensory motor function and tactile sensation from lower limbs. Also observed was an effect in the basal ganglia region and the thalamus, which is involved in the motor learning and reward process of exercise.

References
Rajab, A. S., Crane, D. E., Middleton, L. E., Robertson, A. D., Hampson, M., & MacIntosh, B. J. (2014). A single session of exercise increases connectivity in sensorimotor-related brain networks: a resting-state fMRI study in young healthy adults. Frontiers in human neuroscience. Volume 8(625), pp: 1-9. Doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00625.