Achucarro - Basque Center for Neuroscience
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Professor of Anatomy and Embryology at the University of the Basque Country, founding scientific director of the Achúcarro Neuroscience Centre in Bilbao and president of the Spanish Society of Neuroscience (SENC)
Various studies have shown that exercise benefits the brain. Now, an international team has studied in mice how physical activity affects the brain and how these changes influence the effects of exercise. The research, published in Neuron, has shown that physical activity causes brain changes in a region of the hypothalamus involved in how the body uses energy and in regulating blood sugar. If these neurons were blocked immediately after exercise, the animals showed no improvement in endurance or metabolism with training. The authors suggest that activating these neurons may help the body recover faster, allowing other parts, such as the muscles, lungs, and heart, to adapt more quickly to more intense workouts.