Topic: physical exercise

Physical Exercise (PE) is widely acknowledged for its positive impact on cognition and specifically on short-term memory. However, the precise neurophysiological mechanisms of performance improvements are unclear. We developed an MEG-compatible pedal exercises – mimicking walking – to explore PE’s impact on working memory (WM). In simultaneous MEG/EEG recordings participants carried out an N-back task with varying WM loads across blocks and either rested or walked during 2-min-breaks between blocks. PE improved target detection, heightened EEG-spindle activity. MEG ripples (80-150Hz) displayed

There is an overwhelming agreement in scientific literature and global health guidelines that physical exercise is beneficial for health. Despite this, many people under-exercise, and instead choose to consume highly-palatable food (HPF) which is widely available in many societies. What neural mechanisms drive the prioritization of exercise, especially in the presence of HPF, remain unclear. We implement a novel paradigm allowing freely-behaving mice to choose between voluntary wheel-running and several other temptations. Mice displayed a clear preference to spending most of their time wheel-r

Ageing has been defined as a gradual functional decline with a progressive physiological integrity loss, increasing the organism’s vulnerability to death. Otherwise, this described deterioration is the major risk factor for most current human pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and diabetes. However, in the last decades, non-pharmacological treatments like physical exercise have provided general health benefits against ageing decline. In this study, we aim to analyze how lifestyle factors such as physical exercise can modify the molecular expres

Aims: Post-injury physical exercise can reduce memory deficits associated to traumatic brain injury (TBI) in late adolescent and young adult rats, but both the effectiveness of this treatment and possible sex-dependent effects in late middle-aged injured rats are important issues still unsolved. The aim of the present work was to examine whether chronic object recognition memory (ORM) deficits associated to TBI can be alleviated by post-injury physical exercise in males and females late middle-aged rats. Methods: 14 months-old rats were submitted to a controlled cortical impact injury model of

Chronic stress is a major risk factor for depression and anxiety disorders, particularly in women. Stress leads to impaired neuroplasticity and neuroinflammation, but these effects can be ameliorated by physical activity. Mechanistically, neuroplasticity and neuroinflammation are linked through the fractalkine pathway, whose receptor CX3CR1 is exclusively expressed on microglia in the brain. We previously linked CX3CR1 deficiency to impaired neuroplasticity and microglial function in the motor cortex (M1) and showed that, depending on stress vulnerability, stress also leads to impaired motor l