Exercise Enhances and Protects Brain Function

COTMAN, C.W., and C. ENGESSER-CESAR. Exercise enhances and protects brain function. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 75–79, 2002. Physical activity, in the form of voluntary wheel running, induces gene expression changes in the brain. Animals that exercise show an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a molecule that increases neuronal survival, enhances learning, and protects against cognitive decline. Microarray analysis of gene expression provides further support that exercise enhances and supports brain function.