Regular exercise has a powerful anti-aging effect, helping to prevent disease and injury while also helping to keep you fit as you age. A growing body of research suggests this includes valuable protection for the entire body, including the brain.
Exercise can slow or prevent cognitive decline in mice, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia.Deep and selective effects“It affects certain types of brain cells.”
This new study not only demonstrates this intriguing phenomenon in a fellow mammal, but also sheds light on how this effect is triggered in the brains of physically active mice.
Research suggests that exercise has similar benefits in humans, but many of the mechanisms behind these benefits are still not fully understood, the authors of the new study note. Such studies could provide valuable insights into how exercise strengthens the brain.
The researchers investigated the effects of exercise and aging on gene expression of specific cell types in the brain. HippocampusComplex brain structures involved in learning and memory.
“Groups of young and old mice, aged 3 and 18 months, engaged in either a sedentary or active lifestyle – the latter exercising with a running wheel. Ageing affects all types of brain cells, but some appear to be affected more than others,” explains study co-author Jana Vukovic.
“We found that aging significantly alters gene expression in all cell types in the brain, but has the greatest impact on microglia, the immune cells of the central nervous system that support brain function.” To tell Vukovic is a neuroimmunologist at the University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Sciences and the Queensland Brain Institute..
But these changes are not conclusive: When older mice exercise, their microglia become more similar to those in younger mice, a study has found.
“Our study revealed that exercise in the form of a running wheel in mice reverts the genetic profile of aged microglial cells back to the pattern seen in young microglial cells,” Vuković said. To tell.
Ageing also has some broader effects on other types of brain cells, but exercise has a more limited countervailing effect on them, said lead author Soral Shouket from the University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Biosciences.
“Microglia were the only brain cells in which age-related changes were significantly reversed,” says Schocke. To tell.
In addition to various changes in brain cells due to aging, aged mice T cells According to the study, their hippocampi
T cells are white blood cells that play a key role in targeting foreign invaders, but researchers aren’t sure why there are more of them in the brains of older mice.
Nonetheless, physical activity was associated with decreased T cell expansion with age, suggesting that exercise may offer another means to counter the effects of aging.
“Giving mice a running wheel prevented or reduced the presence of T cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and learning, during ageing,” Vukovic said. To tell“This shows that exercise reduces processes associated with ageing in mice.”
Although the mouse study only hints at potential benefits for humans, it’s still an important contribution, Vuckovic adds. Future research could build on these findings to reveal new insights about the brain, some of which may one day help us stave off old age for a little longer.
“Our findings in mice provide a foundation for research into the human brain and aging,” she says. To tell“Further research may ultimately lead to the development of therapies that target specific cell types to combat brain aging.”
This study Senescent cells.
