Single sessions of moderately intense exercise help boost memory in older individuals, reveals study

( Natural News ) Regular exercise has been linked to numerous health benefits, but its connection to semantic memory is largely unexplored. Researchers from the University of Maryland found that a single session of exercise has positive effects on parts of the brain associated with memory . They published their findings in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. Exercise helps improve memory Several studies have backed the health benefits that exercise has on the brain. One study from the University of British Columbia revealed that regular aerobic exercise boosts the size of the hippocampus , the part of the brain that handles verbal memory and learning. Other studies have observed improvements in the prefrontal cortex – the part in charge of decision making and social behavior – among individuals who exercised every day. In the current study, the researchers wanted to find out the effects of acute exercise on semantic memory . Acute exercise refers to short exercises of moderate to high intensity. Meanwhile, semantic memory refers to long-term memories associated with words, names, and information not related to personal experience. The researchers gathered 26 participants for the study. They were all healthy older adults, whose ages ranged from 55 to 85. The clinical trial was split into two sessions. In the first session, they cycled on a stationary bike in moderate intensity for 30 minutes. In the second session, they simply rested for the same length of time. After exercising or waiting for 30 minutes, the participants performed the Famous and Non-Famous name discrimination task during fMRI scanning. In this task, participants identified famous names and non-famous ones. The researchers monitored brain activity the entire time, paying special attention to areas associated with memory. Discover how to prevent and reverse heart disease (and other cardio related events) […]

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