User:Pedro.torres26/Neurobiological effects of physical exercise

The neurobiological effects of physical exercises on brain structure, function, and cognition are innumerable. Various research has shown that that consistent exercise, can improve certain cognitive functions, healthy alterations in gene expression in the brain, and beneficial forms of neuroplasticity and behavioral plasticity. Exercise can also have some long-term effects, some of this are: increased neuron growth, increased neurobiological activity, improved stress coping, enhanced cognitive control of behavior, improve declarative, spatial, and working memory, and structural and functional improvements in brain structures and pathways associated with cognitive control and memory. The effects of exercise on cognition have important implications for improving academic performance in children and college students, improving adult productivity, preserving cognitive function in old age, preventing or treating certain neurological disorders, and improving the overall quality of life.

In healthy adults, exercise has been shown to causes a temporary effect on cognition, after a single exercise session and permanent effects on cognition after daily exercise over a period of several months. People who regularly exercise, have greater scores on neuropsychological function and performance tests that measure certain cognitive functions, such as attentional control, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, working memory updating and capacity, declarative memory, spatial memory, and information processing speed. The temporary effects of exercise on cognition include improvements in most executive functions and information processing speed for a period of up to 2 hours after exercising.

Aerobic exercise induces short- and long-term effects on mood and emotional states by promoting positive affect, inhibiting negative affect, and decreasing the biological response to acute psychological stress. Over the short-term, aerobic exercise functions as both an antidepressant and euphoriant, whereas consistent exercise produces general improvements in mood and self-esteem.

Regular aerobic exercise improves symptoms associated with a variety of central nervous system disorders and may be used as an adjunct therapy for these disorders. There is clear evidence of exercise treatment efficacy for major depressive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The American Academy of Neurology's clinical practice guideline for mild cognitive impairment indicates that clinicians should recommend regular exercise two times per week, to individuals who have been diagnosed with this condition. Reviews of clinical evidence also support the use of exercise as an adjunct therapy for certain neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson's disease. Regular exercise is also associated with a lower risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders. A large body of preclinical evidence and emerging clinical evidence supports the use of exercise as an adjunct therapy for the treatment and prevention of drug addictions. Regular exercise has also been proposed as an adjunct therapy for brain cancers.

Effects in childrens:

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Kids exercising

Children who do aerobic exercises are shown to promote their Executive Function which is responsible for better cognition and behaviors.In a research made by Sibley and Etnier in 2003, they performed a meta-analysis that looked at the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance in children. They reported a beneficial relationship in the categories of perceptual skills, intelligence quotient, achievement, verbal tests, mathematic tests, developmental level/academic readiness, and others, with the exception of memory, that was found to be unrelated to physical activity. The correlation was strongest for the age ranges of 4–7 and 11–13 years. On the other hand, Chaddock and colleagues (2011) found results that contrasted Sibley and Etnier's meta-analysis. In their study, the hypothesis was that lower-fit children would perform poorly in executive control of memory and have smaller hippocampal volumes compared to higher-fit children. Instead of physical activity being unrelated to memory in children between 4 and 18 years of age, it may be that preadolescents of higher fitness have larger hippocampal volumes than preadolescents of lower fitness. According to a previous study done by Chaddock and colleagues (Chaddock et al.2010), a larger hippocampal volume would result in better executive control of memory. They concluded that hippocampal volume was positively associated with performance on relational memory tasks. Their findings are the first to indicate that aerobic fitness may relate to the structure and function of the preadolescent human brain. In Best’s (2010) meta-analysis of the effect of activity on children’s executive function, there are two distinct experimental designs used to assess aerobic exercise on cognition. The first is chronic exercise, in which children are randomly assigned to a schedule of aerobic exercise over several weeks and later assessed at the end. The second is acute exercise, which examines the immediate changes in cognitive functioning after each session. The results of both suggest that aerobic exercise may briefly aid children’s executive function and also influence more lasting improvements to executive function. Other studies have suggested that exercise is unrelated to academic performance, perhaps due to the parameters used to determine exactly what academic achievement is. This area of study has been a focus for education boards that make decisions on whether physical education should be implemented in the school curriculum, how much time should be dedicated to physical education, and its impact on other academic subjects

Brain Cancer

Brain cancer or tumor occurs when a mass or abnormal cell forms in the brain. This cancer can be benign (not cancerous), and malign (cancerous). There are different types of brain cancer, these are:

Studierfenster Brain Tumor Segmentation

1. Acoustic neuroma
2. Astrocytoma
3. Brain metastases
4. Choroid plexus carcinoma
5. Craniopharyngioma
6. Embryonal tumors
7. Ependymoma
8. Glioblastoma
9. Glioma
10. Medulloblastoma
11. Meningioma
12. Oligodendroglioma
13. Pineoblastoma
14. Pituitary tumors
15. Studierfenster

During the diagnosis of this cancer, patients are affected physically, cognitively, and emotionally provoking changes in their life. When patients are diagnosed with brain cancer, commonly they suffer from depression and fatigue. Some research has shown that exercise can help reduce the side effects presented during diagnosis. After treatment, patients suffer from fatigue, and a way to reduce it is by doing cardiovascular or aerobic exercises. On the other side, exercise has been demonstrated to make people feel better. This occurs because while exercising, it increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline, and endocannabinoid, which all are brain chemicals associated with feeling happy, confident, capable, less anxiety and stress, and also less physical pain.

Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a brain disease that causes shaking, stiffness, and walking, balance, and coordination problems. The symptom of Parkinson gets worse at time passes. Patients over time can experience difficulties walking, and talking, as well as mental and behavioral changes. This illness occurs when nerve cells, or neurons, are damaged or die in a region of the brain that regulates movement. These neurons usually create an essential brain chemical known as dopamine. When this neuron dies or damages, it produces less dopamine causing the movement problems presented in Parkinson's. Some of the main symptoms presented in Parkinson's patients are: shake/twitch in hand, arms, legs, or head; slowness in movements; and poor balance or coordination. It has been shown that exercise can help promote both mental and physical symptoms presented. In a study published by the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy in 2009, investigators evidenced that exercise was successful in enhancing the balance of work efficiency and postural instability.