It has already been shown that physical activity helps prevent cognitive decline, but now an Argentine study goes one step further to try to prove that it could even generate new neurons in adulthood.
Neuroscientists and technologists proved that even sedentary people improved their spatial memory after doing 25 minutes of exercise on a stationary bike.
Physical activity is, in reality, an excuse to demonstrate something else: that this effort can contribute to generating neurons.
“We are based on a type of spatial memory called
Patterns Separation
that is developed in the Dentate Gyrus, a region of the brain that is the
corner
of the hippocampus, where spatial memories are processed.
It is the only place in the brain of mammals and, therefore, also of humans, where it is believed that neurogenesis may occur;
generation of new neurons.
So, what we were trying to look for is a spatial memory that indirectly works better if there is neurogenesis,” explains neuroscientist and co-director of the study Fabricio Ballarini, who carries out his work at the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires and the Institute of Cellular Biology and Neurosciences of the University of Buenos Aires.
The key is Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a protein related to the growth and health of neurons that also increases when you do physical exercise.
This had already been demonstrated in mice more than a decade ago and now the experiment could be adapted to humans thanks to virtual reality, in which researchers from the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and the National University of the Center for the Province of Buenos Aires (UNICEN).
Spatial memory, which records information about the environment and the location of objects, deteriorates with aging and Alzheimer's disease, so it is important to study simple ways to improve it.
More information
Choosing the ideal time of day to exercise could maximize your benefits
“When studying in humans, molecular aspects cannot be analyzed for ethical reasons, so we must observe the behavior of memory,” clarifies Ballarini, awakened by one of the central dilemmas of neuroscience: whether or not neurons can be born in the adulthood.
The researcher explains: “The central dogma, especially in mammals, is that we are born with a supply of neurons that die and new ones are not born.
To know this, a permanent camera would have to be installed to detect the exact moment a neuron is born.
That's impossible.
The only way to know is indirect.
Therefore, our central hypothesis is that if people do physical activity, BDNF levels rise.”
If that happens, the researchers believe it should be reflected in better performance of spatial location that is only processed in the dentate gyrus, where
neurons
sprout .
“What we are looking for is some indirect evidence that there could be neurogenesis in humans and that this is triggered by exercise.
Ultimately, the ultimate goal is to demonstrate that physical activity generates new neurons,” says the neuroscientist, popular in the country for his activity as a popularizer.
In fact, part of the financing for this study benefited from his activity as a science communicator, in addition to some technology transfer funds from UNICEN and the usual salary contribution from CONICET.
A memorable cave
A group of 98 volunteers between 18 and 40 years old entered a kind of visual cave, a Computer Assisted Virtual Environment (CAVE, in English), in which a desert landscape was projected on the walls and floor to give a feeling of real immersion.
There, they had to observe carefully and try to memorize the location of a series of flags.
They could move virtually with a joystick, like in a video game, and make use of the few mountain landmarks or some clouds.
The artificial environment allowed them to keep stable environmental variables that, in a natural context, would have been altered by factors such as wind, sunlight, temperature or interference from animals.
The projections also allowed "not having anything on, like a helmet, so that it is more similar to reality," according to Dr. Cristian García Bauza, coordinator of the laboratory in which this tool was developed.
Upon leaving, the participants were randomly separated into two groups: one that exercised on a stationary bicycle for 25 minutes, within which there were athletes and sedentary people, and another that sat down and watched a video of a cycling race.
This was done so we could distinguish the mental sensation of doing physical activity from the brain effects of actually doing it.
Twenty-four hours later, according to UNICEN researcher Florencia Rodríguez, both groups returned to the CAVE to check if they were able to locate on their own the flags they had seen in the first stage.
The result was that all those who had done physical exercise, including those who were sedentary, were able to correctly locate them in space, while those who had only watched a video of a race did not achieve that goal.
The tests were carried out in a room with visual projections on the walls and floor. subways
Finding alternatives to drugs is another of the motivations of the neuroscientific team.
“What we are very interested in is finding issues that have to do with external stimulations that can help memory.
From the age of 40 or 45, memory deficits begin to be observed in healthy people and even more so in an aging population.
In some countries, at the end of the century there will be a huge number of adults with cognitive problems, both in the economically active and inactive populations,” says Ballarini.
For this reason, she explains, her search is based on finding specific tools.
For example, if you want to strengthen a memory, such as studying something, you could follow certain steps such as being surprised, going to a specific place, taking a nap or doing physical activity, something that is a product of understanding how the brain works.
“We tested it with spatial memory and now we will try to try it with the memory of something that has nothing to do with spatial memory.
We will guide him towards some promoter of memory,” she adds.
Although this study is not sufficient on its own to definitively conclude that physical exercise generates neurons, it does represent a significant step towards that goal.
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