Characterizing the fundamental mechanisms of psycho-physiological coupling in the human brain

人类大脑已经进化出深刻的能力，以适应和增强自身的结构和功能，以应对运动和认知挑战活动(即心理-生理耦合)等刺激。大脑功能的改善会立即发生，因为一次运动可以增强注意力、记忆力和处理能力等认知功能--运动后长达一小时的处理速度。考虑到大脑对认知挑战的接受性和响应性更强，运动后的这段时间，大脑功能得到增强，可能是安排认知要求高的活动的机会之窗。为了支持这一点，与单独进行任何一种方式相比，将运动和认知训练相结合的干预措施可以更好地改善大脑功能。然而，人们对运动改善大脑功能的机制知之甚少。已有研究表明，运动是一种“神经性触发因素”，它能刺激脑血流量的增加，并增加脑源性神经营养因子(BDNF)和乳酸等神经活性化学物质的水平。这些机制反过来改善认知，增强大脑功能，以应对随后的认知需求活动。拟议的研究计划是由一个总体假设指导的，即在认知需求活动之前使用神经源性触发来战略性地准备大脑，将使大脑功能结果最大化。这项研究计划的长期愿景是揭示心理-生理耦合与神经源性触发的潜在机制，并表征这些机制如何增强大脑功能。为了实现拟议研究计划的长期愿景，我们的研究将：i)探索神经源性触发因素增加BDNF的机制；ii)研究单独增加BDNF或乳酸是否在不锻炼的情况下改善大脑功能；iii)描述新的神经源性触发因素如何影响BDNF、脑血流和认知。在生命周期中保护和改善大脑功能的行为策略是非常有必要的，特别是考虑到加拿大快速老龄化的人口。这项研究计划将促进目前对神经性触发改善男性和女性大脑功能的基本机制的理解。这些发现将阐明新的行为策略，这些策略可用于在认知参与活动之前为大脑做好准备。这种战略方法可以应用于教育、职业和神经康复环境。这项研究将提供在整个生命周期中优化大脑功能所需的机制基础。

The human brain has evolved the profound ability to adapt and enhance its own structure and function in response to stimuli like exercise and cognitively challenging activities (i.e., psycho-physiological coupling). Improvements in brain function occur immediately, as a single bout of exercise enhances cognitive functions like attention, memory, and processing-speed for up to one hour post-exercise. This post-exercise period, when brain function is enhanced, may be a window of opportunity to prescribe cognitively demanding activities, given that the brain is more receptive and responsive to cognitive challenges. In support of this, interventions that combine exercise and cognitive training result in greater improvements in brain function compared to performing either modality alone. However, the mechanisms by which exercise improves brain function are poorly understood. It has been proposed that exercise is a "neurogenic trigger", that stimulates elevations in cerebral blood flow and increases levels of neuroactive chemicals like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and lactate. These mechanisms, in turn, improve cognition and enhance brain function for subsequent cognitively demanding activity. The proposed research program is guided by the overarching hypothesis that using a neurogenic trigger to strategically prime the brain before cognitively demanding activity will maximize brain function outcomes. The long-term vision of this research program is to uncover the mechanisms underlying psycho-physiological coupling to neurogenic triggers, and to characterize how these mechanisms enhance brain function. To achieve the long-term vision of the proposed research program, our research will: i) explore the mechanisms by which neurogenic triggers increase BDNF, ii) investigate whether increasing BDNF or lactate alone, without exercise, improves brain function, and iii) characterize how novel neurogenic triggers affect BDNF, cerebral blood flow, and cognition. Behavioural strategies that protect and improve brain function over the lifespan are highly warranted, especially given Canada's rapidly aging population. This research program will advance the current understanding of the fundamental mechanisms by which neurogenic triggers improve brain function in both males and females. These discoveries will elucidate novel behavioural strategies that can be used to prime the brain prior to cognitively engaging activity. Such a strategic approach can be applied to educational, occupational, and neurorehabilitation settings. This research will provide the mechanistic foundation required to optimize brain function across the lifespan.