Brain tissue structure could explain link between fitness and memory

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Link:  <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170501131702.htm>.

 This article discusses how fitness can increase memory function. As someone who is very much into fitness, I always find it very interesting to learn about how the benefits staying healthy can do for you. This study also emphasized the importance of the hippocampus, which we also discussed the importance of in class when talking about memory. However, unlike most studies, this study did not look at the size of the hippocampus, but the viscoelasticity of it. They found that when the hippocampus is more elastic, the better functioning it has. Therefore, subjects that were more fit tend to also have a more elastic hippocampus.
    This is article is important because it gives researchers, scientists, doctors, etc a different tool when looking at memory function when they had focused on the size of the hippocampus for so long. It also demonstrates how important memory is for the functions of a human being, which is something we had also discussed in class when we defined memory as making it a huge part of who we are. The article also emphasizes the importance of fitness and exercise, not only for physical attributes, but for how it affects the inside of your body as well.

Comments

  1. Alexander EikenbergMay 2, 2017 at 10:43 PM

    In the article I found the specific language of an "elastic" hippocampus unclear until the author makes the comparison of an elastic structure to a firm mattress, and a viscous one a poor indented mattress. What this implied to me was a density of supportive glial cells or neural complexity. It makes sense to me that an elastic, firm, dense, or complex structure in the brain is more adaptive than one the author calls "viscous," like pudding or sludge.
    I'm wondering if the fit and active body has marked advantages in glial generation and maintenance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 3, 2017 at 3:36 AM

    This article was not the first time I have heard scientists and other professionals say that fitness can improve memory. Just like fitness works out the muscles of the body, I don't see why it couldn't also "work out" the brain. Following a regime and being under such concentration certainly has to have benefits to the brain.

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