Can Exercise Improve Memory?

Contemplating missing a workout? Feeling too stressed out to find time for a gym session? You might want to rethink that. Exercise is necessary to maintain a healthy body weight and to help prevent disease. There is also growing evidence that exercise can have rapid effects on brain function and improve memory. Regular exercise is highly recommended to keep both mind and body fit. We have previously reported on Irisin: Boosting the brain-building benefits of physical activity and The Irisin-Exercise Connection.

According to a recent study, regular exercise is proven to protect against defects in memory consolidation caused by chronic stress. Ca2+ is needed for synaptic plasticity, allowing us to learn and remember. Chronic stress, however, leads to a maladaptive influx of Ca²⁺, leading to an inefficiency in long-term memory formation. Our FLUOFORTE® Calcium Assay Kit was used to analyze the Ca²⁺ influx in response to a selective AMPA agonist treatment. Exercise enhanced PRL, or prolactin response, and restored a reduction in AMPAR-mediated Ca²⁺ influx, thereby presenting its ability to regulate AMPAR permeability during periods of chronic stress. Regular exercise was shown to oppose the effects of chronic stress on memory consolidation, which is good news for those hitting the gym when the going gets tough. Remember to sweat the stress out - your memories depend on it!

For more information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30905005

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