How to grow new brain cells? Running and the brain: how exercise affects functional connections

Regular running does much more than strengthen your heart and lungs. Prospective brain research shows a strong connection between running and youth, brain alertness, and quick thinking.

More energetic "pump" activity of the heart vascular system allows oxygen and glucose to reach the brain more actively. And when you make running a regular habit, it provides significant benefits to your body in the long run. All forms of exercise provide energy for the brain, but research shows that the more intense the aerobic exercise, the greater the "gain."

New brain cells

Running causes new nerve cells to grow (neurogenesis) and new blood vessels (angiogenesis), says J. Carson Smith, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Maryland. "We know that neurogenesis and angiogenesis increase the volume of brain tissue that otherwise decreases with age," he adds. A 2011 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that older adults who regularly ran had a 2% larger hippocampus (an area associated with learning and memory) than their inactive peers. This may not seem like a big deal, but you must understand that this part of the brain does not typically grow during adulthood. Moreover, in this case, exercises act as “rescuers” of cells from certain death.

Clarity of thinking

Running can help you learn and remember new information better, and can even potentially prevent age-related dementia. The hippocampus is the part of the brain hidden under the medial temporal lobe, most affected by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. In a 2010 study, adult “runner” mice developed new neurons that helped them perceive subtle differences between shapes and colors better than sedentary rodents. More early studies in humans showed similar results. All of these types of cognitive skills help prevent dementia.

Regular running helps you cope more easily with functions such as decision-making, planning, organization, and juggling multiple mental tasks. In a 2010 Japanese study, people who had just completed a physical activity session responded better to mental challenges than those who had not.

Quick Reminder

By being physically active, you will not only be able to remember better, but you will also be able to recall the facts you need when you want. In a study of patients diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's disease" those who exercised regularly were better able to remember names famous people. Brain scans showed activity in the caudate nucleus, which is located in the middle part of the brain, just below the corpus callosum. This area is involved in motor function, but also supports a set of memory-related operations and improves the quality of transmitted nerve signals. This means you'll have excellent access to the billions of details stored in the recesses of your brain.

Positive prospects

Running can be as effective, and in some cases better, than SSRI medications in treating depression. These antidepressants affect the production of serotonin, improving mood and well-being. It turns out that aerobic exercise does the same thing. Moreover, in studies, patients who were successfully treated with SSRI drugs experienced a relapse earlier than those who remained physically active.

We remind you that this week is dedicated to the effect of running on the human body and internal processes. The topic of today's article is the influence of running on mental capacity person.

Physical activity not only has beneficial effects on our body, but also on our cognitive abilities. Many studies have shown that exercise literally makes us smarter.

Running is the spark that causes new nerve cells to be born (neurogenesis) and new blood vessels to form (angiogenesis).

Neurogenesis and angiogenesis increase the volume of brain tissue, which usually decreases with age. This is why jogging or at least brisk walking has such a beneficial effect on brain activity in older people. A 2011 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that older adults who active image life and exercise, the volume of the hippocampus increases, an area of ​​the brain that is associated with memory and learning ability.

Just a few days of running in a row can lead to the growth of hundreds of thousands of new brain cells, which are responsible for recalling and sorting memories (information is not lumped together in your head) - a skill crucial in learning and other cognitive tasks.

Moreover, while running you are more likely to find necessary information in your memory palaces. Another study showed that during running, the caudate nucleus, which is located in the midbrain just below the corpus callosum, begins to work more actively. This area is involved in motor function and supports memory circuits, and running improves the signals that are sent to memory cells, and your chances of getting to the bottom of small details and other information increase significantly. So we recommend that while you run, you think about problems that you just can’t solve.

In addition to the above bonuses for improving memory, concentration and learning ability, running may be the most effective medicine from depression. Research has shown that its effect on the processes that trigger depression is similar to that of medicines(antidepressants) - they retain neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine) in synapses for a longer period, improving mood.

And maybe running in a great way mindful meditation. Moreover, each runner has his own way. Someone focuses on breathing or the rhythm of the heart and thus completely clears their mind of extraneous thoughts, someone begins to contemplate and notice things around them that were not striking before. Things, events and people begin to be perceived completely differently. Someone completely clears their brain of thoughts and remains in complete silence, while someone, while running, tries to solve a problem that has not been given all day and - bingo! - finds a solution that was on the surface.

Many people despite physical fatigue after running, they feel a surge of positive emotions and mental clarity. How do you feel? Has it ever happened that while running you found a way out of a seemingly hopeless situation?

Probably only one sport can be called universal - running. It is running that helps a person develop and improve the most necessary qualities: strength of many, speed, efficiency, will. The human need for physical activity is especially relevant in our time of technological progress. Unfortunately, the lifestyle of a modern person contributes to the emergence and development of heart diseases, metabolic diseases, and the vascular system. Comfortable living conditions lead to muscular dystrophy, as a result, the activity of the most important systems body.

How does running affect human health?

They will bring it to your body at a time convenient for you. undoubted benefit:

• strengthening: active jogging forces the heart to work hard, pumping about 30 liters of blood per minute, while at rest the volume of blood coming from the heart does not exceed 4 liters per minute;
• acceleration of blood circulation helps to improve the oxidative process of fat cells, thus running helps cleanse the walls of blood vessels from deposits of harmful cholesterol, which will undoubtedly help protect yourself from the development of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and relieve obesity;
• running stimulates recovery processes (phases “fatigue” - “rest” alternate), thereby slowing down natural aging person;
• running helps strengthen respiratory system , increase the functional volume of the lungs. During jogging, the process of supplying oxygen to all organs and tissues improves, which helps normalize their functioning.

The benefits of running for the brain

We have all heard the saying that “nerve cells do not regenerate,” and every day their number decreases. Latest discoveries scientists indicate that the process regeneration nerve cells (neurogenesis) is possible, and it is within the power of every person to ensure that new neurons regularly appear in his brain, as well as the survival of existing ones. In addition to neurogenesis, it was also discovered and experimentally proven beneficial influence race for angiogenesis – process emergence of new blood vessels , nourishing brain cells.

In order to improve the rate and progression of neurogenesis and angiogenesis, it is beneficial to perform both regular mental and physical exercise. This is where running comes to the rescue, since improvement helps optimize activity in the hippocampus, the brain structure where new neurons are born. These new elements play a key role in the processes of remembering and perceiving information; they are also closely connected with emotions and memory.

Jogging improves memory

According to the results of the studies, new neurons play a more significant role in memorization process, rather than being in combination with existing ones. Based on this, it can be assumed that regular running improves the speed and quality of memorization.

The following example might confirm this assumption: A group of people who jogged regularly for 4 weeks showed much better results in recalling complex pictures from memory than those who did not devote time physical activity and led a passive lifestyle.

Running will protect you from depression

All runners note that jogging improves their mood and helps with depression. This is due to the following factors:

• physiological: jogging can replace taking medication antidepressants, since their effect is similar: they help delay and prolong the effect of such neurotransmitters like serotonin and endorphin, which are responsible for high mood;
• psychological: improving health and running brings the joy of self-improvement into his life. Physical fatigue helps to relax thoughts, a kind of escape from disturbing reality. Most running enthusiasts note that during training there is a special concentration of attention, troubling questions and problems find their solution, the brain is recharging creative energy.

Running helps you think. Many people have noticed that after a good run you think especially clearly and clearly. Neuroscientists have found scientific explanation these feelings. Turns out, popular expression“nerve cells do not recover” is not true. In fact, new neurons are formed in the body, and running - The best way start this process.

“During research, we found that new neurons appear 30-40 minutes after the start of training. We also noticed that running increased activity in the frontal lobe, which is responsible for planning, concentration, goal setting and time management,” explained American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology President Karen Postal.

Running improves memory. Another area of ​​the brain that is activated when running is the hippocampus. It is responsible for memory and tends to decrease with age. But senile forgetfulness can literally be avoided. The results of the experiments: in people who received good aerobic exercise, the hippocampus doubled in volume over the course of a year.

Running saves you from depression. Runner Monte Davis once said, “It’s very difficult to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time.” It turned out that there was only a grain of joke in the joke: when running, there is a release of serotonin and endorphin, which are called hormones of joy.

The second point is psychological: running improves your health and figure - the thought of self-improvement automatically makes you happier.

And one more thing: physical fatigue helps to “relax” thoughts. In other words: you are too tired from training to worry about problems.

Running helps the brain “rest.” This beneficial effect running on thinking has not yet been sufficiently studied. However approximate essence is this: while jogging, the mind “wanders.” Attention and concentration are, of course, important. But for efficient work the brain simply needs to be in a distracted state sometimes.

In general, the Japanese writer, amateur runner and great sage Haruki Mupakami was right when he wrote: “I don’t think about anything in particular, I just run and run. Basically, when I run, a certain emptiness forms around me. You could say that I run in order to find myself in this very emptiness.”

Running develops logic. Japanese scientists have proven that runners solve problems twice as fast logic problems- both at the level of household concerns and in the business sphere. This is due to the fact that regular jogging improves performance. frontal lobes brain, responsible for functions such as decision making, organization, and strategy planning.

The epidemic of brain diseases has generated a response: the best scientists around the world are thinking about how to protect Gray matter. The leading neuroscientist Grigory Enikolopov told Ogonyok about the direction in which scientific thought is moving.

— Grigory Nikolaevich, it seems that half of the scientific news today is devoted to the study of the brain. What is the reason for this trend?

— All over the world, brain science comes out on top in importance. This is due to two things: firstly, the brain remains the most complex and still unknown system of the living world. Secondly, these studies are extremely important from a social and economic point of view. Paradoxically, thanks to the success modern medicine The border of old age is moving back and because of this, the number of neurodegenerative diseases among the elderly is increasing. At the same time, the number of nervous and neurological disorders among the working part of the population is growing - depression, severe neuroses, drug addiction, strokes, injuries.

Treating so many people is expensive. It is estimated that if no fundamental discoveries are made, then in 20-30 years the costs of just one Alzheimer's disease could overwhelm the healthcare system of any highly developed country, be it the USA, Russia or Japan. This is a huge problem. But for now we seriously cannot stop, let alone serious illnesses, but also the “usual” memory deterioration that occurs with age.

— And what discovery, from this point of view, seems to you the most significant in Lately?

“There is now an explosive increase in discoveries and knowledge in brain science. Directly in my field, the most important discovery recent years- indisputable evidence that the formation of nerve cells in the adult brain, that is, neurogenesis, occurs not only in the adult brain of animals, but also in humans. For quite a long time it was believed that nerve cells are formed in us only during the embryonic period, and then are used up throughout our lives. But today it has been brilliantly proven that the process of the emergence of new neurons is actively occurring in humans, both in at a young age, and in very old age. This is fundamentally important for understanding how the brain works and for new ideas about the treatment of diseases of the nervous system.

— How do neurons appear? What are they born from?

“Our brain has a reserve of stem cells, which, under the influence of a whole cascade of reactions and signals, begin to turn into neurons. In this case, neurogenesis mainly occurs in two parts of the brain: the ventricles and, what may be most important for humans, in the hippocampus, the structure responsible for learning and memory. True, just the other day news appeared that in other areas of the adult brain, during strokes, another type of cell - astrocytes - can turn into neurons. This is very interesting because it means that we have some kind of cellular reserve and it turns on when the brain is damaged.

— Your laboratory bred a transgenic type of mice in which brain stem cells glowed brightly. After this, it became clearly visible that nerve cells actually grow in the brains of animals. How can we detect this in a person?

“The very idea that new cells can appear in the adult human brain was proposed 50 years ago. But even in animals, it was difficult to prove that in the adult brain new cells are capable of turning into neurons. Fundamentally important work relative to humans appeared only in the mid-90s of the last century. Scientists from Karolinska University in Sweden worked with cancer patients on last stage. Volunteers were injected with labeled nucleotides into their bodies, and their brains were analyzed after death. This is how it was possible to see and prove that in adults, cell division occurs in the brain, most of which turn into neurons. Over the following years, scientists tried to understand what this means and what function they serve. In general, it is this area of ​​neurophysiology that is developing most rapidly today. The main goal is to develop approaches that would allow us to assess the emergence of new neurons in humans non-invasively.

— Is it possible to draw any conclusions? What is the function of these new neurons?

“We associate new neurons in the hippocampus with memory, emotions and cognitive functions—the brain’s ability to learn and perceive information.” In particular, several laboratories have shown that new neurons are important for a special form of memory called "pattern discrimination." It is not like memorizing a series of numbers or words.

— Can you explain with an example what this is?

“The point is that a person is able to distinguish between very similar, but slightly different contexts. In fact, we do this all the time when we realize that the situation or place is almost the same, but still different in some way. It is this mechanism that is disrupted in some neurodegenerative diseases. For example, we know many stories where, at the onset of Alzheimer's disease, even before the development severe stages, people can't find their home. It seems to them that they have come to the right intersection, to the right house, and so on - the situations are 90 percent the same, but the most important thing lies in these 10 percent of differences that they do not notice. So, new neurons are responsible for precisely this discrimination of small, but often critical, differences.

— If neurogenesis is so important, is it possible to somehow speed it up? Are there any effective ways?

— Nowadays, a lot of research is devoted to cellular mechanisms that regulate certain stages of the formation of new neurons, and ways to “stimulate” stem cells and neurogenesis. This is precisely the main topic of our research. It is amazing that the most powerful and reliable way to spur neurogenesis and improve your cognitive abilities is running and in general physical exercise. Today this has been confirmed by dozens, if not hundreds of studies. In addition, some greatly accelerate neurogenesis medicines and procedures. For example, antidepressants such as Prozac, electroconvulsive shock and others effective ways treatments for depression all increase neurogenesis. Based on these data, a new brain fitness industry is beginning to develop.

— In your Moscow laboratory at MIPT, scientists are studying the effects of low doses of radiation on the brain. Why is this interesting?

— Modern man We are increasingly faced with similar types of radiation - we are exposed to all sorts of medical examinations, fly on airplanes, and so on. Besides ordinary people, an increasing number of professions are appearing in which they have to work with constant sources of various radiations - doctors, engineers, pilots, astronauts...

Today we know for sure that low doses of radiation do not cause such dangerous complications, such as cancer. But it is still unknown how they affect human cognitive abilities. People began to think about this only recently, when it became known that new neurons are constantly being born in the brain. Maybe such doses have no effect, maybe they worsen, and maybe they improve cognitive processes. This is an open question for now. Now in our laboratory we are looking at how long-term exposure to low doses of radiation affects memory and learning in animals. This is a very long process, but this is the only way to record any changes and then try to find chemical compounds that can withstand possible negative impacts.

- How relevant is this? It seems that we know quite a lot about radiation.

— Interest is extremely high! Consider long-distance space travel, such as the future mission to Mars. The fact is that on Earth and in near-Earth orbit, astronauts are protected from cosmic radiation by the planet’s magnetic field. But as soon as they leave the zone of its influence, a stream of various particles will fall on them, the effects of which on the brain are unknown. If they damage the mechanism for the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus, then various shapes mental disorders, for example, people will remember new information worse, suffer from severe depression, and so on. Facts like these can be a critical obstacle to long-distance flights. These are very real concerns, which is why NASA has been allocating large grants for the last 10 years to study such issues, precisely based on the specific objectives of preserving the psychological health of the crew.

— There is some real evidence that radiation can impair a person’s memory or impair emotional sphere?

— If we talk about increased doses, that is, they come from an unexpected direction. For example, it has recently become clear that approximately 20-40 percent of people who are cured of cancer with radiotherapy and chemotherapy experience cognitive impairment for some time. There is even such a concept as “chemobrain”: a condition when, after oncology therapy, a person does not think well, his brain seems to be foggy, but after a few months, or at the very least a couple of years, the lost functions are restored. So, we have reason to believe that such manipulations kill stem cells in the brain and, thereby, the appearance of new neurons.

Interviewed by Elena Kudryavtseva

The brain is his craft

Business card

Grigory Enikolopov, professor, candidate biological sciences. Born in 1952 in Yerevan. Graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University in 1974. He worked at the Institute of Molecular Biology of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the laboratory of G.P. Georgieva. Teaches at Moscow State University. Group leader at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (USA, New York) and head of the brain stem cell laboratory at MIPT. Member of the programs in neurobiology, genetics and molecular biology, pharmacology at Stony Brook University, USA. Author of more than 120 scientific works, holder of 6 US scientific patents, participates in expert groups for awarding grants from major scientific foundations in the US and Europe. Leading researcher in the field of neurogenesis (we are talking about the ability of nerve cells to recover). It is noteworthy that in 1989, Grigory Enikolopov was invited to work at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where 9 Nobel laureates worked, by James Watson, one of the authors of the discovery of the double helix of DNA.

Food for thought

Details

Special products to protect neurons are an essential part of any brain fitness program.

1. Cocoa. The number one drink for those who want to save their brains. Contains theobromine, which activates the cognitive abilities of the brain - memory, speed of information processing, creativity.

2. Turmeric. This spice contains curcumin, a substance that prevents the destruction of dopamine in the brain - important substance in the fight against Parkinson's disease.

3. Lean meat. Contains the substance L-carnosine, which is necessary for normal operation brain tissue. It protects against exposure to toxic metals.

4. Berries. Almost all types contain flavonoids. They activate genes that protect the brain from stress. There are especially many of them in dark grapes, cherries and black currants.

5.Spinach, as well as sorrel, quinoa and some types of leaf lettuce. They block the effects of free radicals and help with heavy mental stress.

6. Green tea. A source of epigallocatechin gallate, which protects the brain from the development of major strokes. Neutralizes neurotoxins.

7. Ginkgo. An extract from the fruits of the tree of the same name smoothes the brain’s response to the effects of the stress hormone cortisol and regulates blood microcirculation in the head.

8. Fish fat. Stops the processes of destruction of nerve cells, improves the functioning of areas of the brain responsible for emotions and memory.