Brain exercise

Dementias are responsible for the most frequent neurodegenerative diseases and the seventh leading cause of death worldwide. As a result, there is a growing effort by the neuroscientific community to understand the physiopathology of neurodegenerative diseases, including how to alleviate the effects of the cognitive decline by means of non-pharmacological therapies (e.g., physical exercise). Studies have shown that exercise can improve aspects of brain health related to cognition. However, there still needs to be more knowledge regarding the mechanisms controlling these relationships, and a newly discovered cleansing system in the brain, named the glymphatic system, can be the missing link in this mechanism...

PURPOSE: Evidence shows diet promotes brain health. Combining foods and nutrients may have beneficial synergistic effects, but the effects on cognitive function interventions are inconsistent. So, a meta-analysis of RCTs was conducted to examine the specific effects on cognitive function. METHODS: We searched four databases from creation to April 2023. Eligible randomized controlled trials were identified. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to combine standardized mean differences (SMD) (95% confidence intervals [CI]), and homogeneity tests for a variance were calculated...

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BACKGROUND: Children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) often experience various limitations, particularly in gross motor function and activities of daily living. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that has been used to improve movement, gross motor function, and activities of daily living. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the potential additional effects of physiotherapy combined with tDCS in children with CP in comparison with physiotherapy only...

Vocal and swallowing deficits are common in Parkinson disease (PD). Because these impairments are resistant to dopamine replacement therapies, vocal and lingual exercise are the primary treatment, but not all individuals respond to exercise and neural mechanisms of treatment response are unclear. To explore putative mechanisms, we used the progressive Pink1-/- rat model of early to mid-stage PD and employed vocal and lingual exercises at 6- and 10-months of age in male Pink1-/- and wild type (WT) rats. We hypothesized that vocal and lingual exercise would improve vocal and tongue use dynamics and increase serotonin (5HT) immunoreactivity in related brainstem nuclei...

Preliminary studies demonstrated beneficial effects of dietary creatine across different post-viral fatigue syndromes. Creatine is often co-administered with glucose to improve its potency yet whether glucose boost the efficacy of creatine in long COVID remains currently unknown. In this report, we investigate the effects of 8-wk creatine intake with and without glucose on patient-reported outcomes, exercise tolerance, and tissue creatine levels in patients with long COVID. Fifteen male and female long COVID adult patients (age 39...

Myokines and exosomes, originating from skeletal muscle, are shown to play a significant role in maintaining brain homeostasis. While exercise has been reported to promote muscle secretion, little is known about the effects of neuronal innervation and activity on the yield and molecular composition of biologically active molecules from muscle. As neuromuscular diseases and disabilities associated with denervation impact muscle metabolism, we hypothesize that neuronal innervation and firing may play a pivotal role in regulating secretion activities of skeletal muscles...

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies described various adaptive neuroplastic brain changes associated with physical activity (PA). EEG studies focused mostly on effects during or shortly after short bouts of exercise. This is the first study to investigate the capability of EEG to display PA-induced long-lasting plasticity in runners compared to a sedentary control group. METHODS: Thirty trained runners and 30 age- and sex-matched sedentary controls (SC) were included as a subpopulation of the ReCaP (Running effects on Cognition and Plasticity) study...

OBJECTIVE: Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), a mitochondrial protein responsible for nonshivering thermogenesis in adipose tissue, serves as a distinct marker for thermogenic brown and beige adipocytes. Ucp1-Cre mice are thus widely used to genetically manipulate these thermogenic adipocytes. However, evidence suggests that UCP1 may also be expressed in non-adipocyte cell types. In this study, we investigated the presence of UCP1 expression in different mouse tissues that have not been previously reported...

Exercise has the unique aptitude to benefit overall health of body and brain. Evidence indicates that the effects of exercise can be saved in the epigenome for considerable time to elevate the threshold for various diseases. The action of exercise on epigenetic regulation seems central to building an "epigenetic memory" to influence long-term brain function and behavior. As an intrinsic bioenergetic process, exercise engages the function of the mitochondria and redox pathways to impinge upon molecular mechanisms that regulate synaptic plasticity and learning and memory...

Background and Objectives : Chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) persists beyond 12 weeks. Manual therapy recommended for CNLBP demonstrates short-term efficacy. Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) teaches patients to modify pain perception through explanations, metaphors, and examples, targeting brain re-education. Motivational Interviewing (MI) enhances motivation for behavioral change, steering patients away from ambivalence and uncertainty. These approaches collectively address the multifaceted nature of CNLBP for effective management...

Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) is a neuroprotective protein essential for embryonic development, proper brain development, and neuronal plasticity. Its mutation causes the autism-like ADNP syndrome (also called the Helsmoortel-Van der Aa syndrome), characterized by neural developmental disorders and motor dysfunctions. Similar to the ADNP syndrome, the ADNP haploinsufficient mouse shows low synapse density, leading to motor and cognitive ability delays. Moderate physical activity (PA) has several neuroprotective and cognitive benefits, promoting neuronal survival, differentiation, neurogenesis, and plasticity...

The aim of this study was to assess the rates of depression, anxiety, and stress and quality of sleeping among COVID-19 patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A case and control design has been employed, involving patients affected by COVID-19 infection (884 with T2DM vs. 884 controls without T2DM) and hospitalized in Istanbul (Turkey) from January to December 2021. A multivariate stepwise regression approach was used to test the associations between sociodemographic, metabolic, serum markers, mental health scores, and T2DM/COVID-19 patients' clinical presentation...

Electroencephalography (EEG) allows for the evaluation of real time changes in brain (electrocortical) activity during exercise. A few studies have examined changes in electrocortical activity using stationary cycling, but the findings have been mixed. Some of these studies have found increases in brain activity following exercise, while others have found decreases in brain activity following exercise. Hence, it is of importance to identify post-exercise changes in brain activity. Sixteen healthy, untrained subjects (8 males; 8 females) participated in the study...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if higher baseline physical activity levels are associated with less β-amyloid burden and whether the ApoE4 genotype moderates this association cross-sectionally and longitudinally. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: 204 cognitively normal older adults (74.5 ± 6.6 years; 26 % ApoE4-carrier) were analyzed. Baseline physical activity was measured using the Minnesota Physical Activity Questionnaire...

In this study we investigated the potential synergistic effects of moderate interval training (MIT) and lithium on spatial learning and memory. Forty-two male Wistar males were classified into six groups including I: Control, II: 10 mg/kg/day IP lithium (Li10), III: MIT, IV: Li10 + MIT, V: 40 mg/kg/day IP lithium (Li40), and VI: Li40 + MIT. Then, the rats underwent Morris Water Maze (MWM) test to assess their spatial memory and learning ability. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) density was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression of PGC1 and SIRT3 were assessed via qRT-PCR...

Exercise can induce brain plasticity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a functional neuroimaging technique that exploits cerebral hemodynamics and has been widely used in the field of sports psychology to reveal the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise. However, most existing fNIRS studies are cross-sectional and do not include exercise interventions. In addition, attributed to differences in experimental designs, the causal relationship between exercise and brain functions remains elusive...

BACKGROUND: Social communication impairments (SCI) is a core symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is marked by challenges in social interaction. Although physical exercise has been shown to improve SCI, this finding has not been supported by comprehensive scientific evidence. Existing research has established a strong link between the SCI in children with ASD and abnormalities in regional homogeneity (ReHo). Therefore, investigating the effects of physical exercise on SCI and Reho in patients with ASD may help to elucidate the neurological mechanisms involved...

Lifestyle factors, especially exercise, impact the manifestation and progression of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease, mediated by changes in hippocampal neuroplasticity. The beneficial effects of exercise may be due to its promotion of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN). Gut microbiota has also been showed to be altered in a variety of brain disorders, and disturbances of the microbiota have resulted in alterations in brain and behaviour. However, whether exercise can counteract the negative effects of altered gut microbiota on brain function remains under explored...

Irisin, a peptide produced during exercise, is believed to play a role in regulating energy levels within the body. Moreover, Irisin has the ability to traverse the blood-brain barrier and engage in various pathophysiological processes within the central nervous system. An increasing body of research identifies Irisin as a significant therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases, indicating a strong link between Irisin and the development of cognitive impairments. In this paper, we present a concise review of effects of different types of exercise on Irisin production, and the mechanisms underlying the Irisin's intervention in various diseases including metabolic diseases, kidney injury and depression...