动物实验,增强大脑功能 z-bo 2020-10-08 388

　　Most people know that regular exercise is good for their health. New research shows that it also makes you smarter. OHSU neuroscientists in Portland, Oregon conducted a mouse study. They found that short-term exercise directly promotes gene function, thereby increasing the connections between brain neurons (hippocampus). Fields related to learning and memory.

　　"Sports is cheap, you don't need expensive gym memberships, and you don't have to run 10 miles a day," said Gary Westbrook, a senior scientist at the OHSU Vollum Institute and professor of neurology at the OHSU School of Medicine.

　　Previous studies on animals and humans have shown that regular exercise can promote brain health. However, it is difficult to distinguish the overall benefits of exercise on the heart, liver, and muscles from the specific effects on the brain. For example, a healthy heart can provide oxygen to the entire body (including the brain).

　　Westbrook said: “Previous exercise research has almost focused on continuous exercise. As neuroscientists, it’s not that we don’t care about the benefits of the heart and muscles, but the special exercises of the brain. I want to know its benefits.”

　　Therefore, scientists are studying mice that specifically measure the brain's response to a single exercise when other sedentary mice stay on the wheel for a short period of time. design. The mouse ran several kilometers in two hours. The study found that short-term exercise bursts (a human basketball game once a week, equivalent to 4000 steps) promoted the increase of Kaiba's synapses. Scientists made this important discovery by analyzing genes added to individual neurons activated during exercise.

　　One of the most prominent genes of

　　is Mtss1L. Previous brain research largely ignored this gene.

　　"This is the most exciting thing," said co-author Christina Chatzi. The Mtss1L gene encodes a protein that bends the cell membrane. The researchers found that when the gene is activated through short-term exercise, it promotes the growth of dendritic spines called synapses.

　　In fact, studies have shown that strenuous exercise is enough to stimulate and learn the brain. In the next phase of research, scientists plan to combine strenuous exercise with learning tasks to better understand its impact on learning and memory.