Exercise and cognitive function

众所周知，运动可以改善心血管功能，降低患心脏病、糖尿病和中风的可能性。然而，新的研究表明，运动可以改善“大脑健康”。与那些不运动的动物相比，经常锻炼的动物在学习和记忆（认知能力）方面表现出改善。运动如何改善大脑功能尚不清楚。然而，对大脑中新连接的生长和新血管的生长至关重要的一些分子似乎对运动特别敏感。在我们的研究中，我们正在使用与人类运动模式非常接近的动物运动模型来调查这些机制和其他机制，以便动物模型的发现更容易转化为人类。我们研究的一个特别新颖的方面是，我们将动物暴露在一系列具有挑战性的心理活动中（类似于人类解决谜题），我们认为这些活动会引起大脑的变化，类似于体育锻炼所产生的变化。如果是这样的话，那么身体活动和精神刺激的结合可能会提供一种终生保持认知能力的最佳方法。

It is well known that exercise can improve cardiovascular function and reduce the likelihood of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke. However, new research has shown that exercise can improve "brain health". Animals that are exposed to periods of regular exercise show improvements in learning and memory (cognitive abilities) compared to those that are inactive. How exercise improves brain function is not clear. However, several molecules important for growth of new connections in the brain and for growing new blood vessels appear to be particularly sensitive to exercise. In our research we are investigating these and other mechanisms using animal models of exercise that closely approximate human exercise patterns so that findings from the animal models can be more easily translated to humans. An especially novel aspect of our research is that we are exposing animals to a series of challenging mental activities (similar to solving puzzles in humans) that we think will cause changes in the brain similar to those produced by physical exercise. If this is the case then the combination of physical activity and mental stimulation may provide an optimal method for maintaining cognitive abilities throughout life.