High-intensity exercise for six minutes could increase the longevity of a healthy brain and postpone the beginning of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. A brief but vigorous cycling session promotes the production of a specialized protein that is crucial for brain development, learning, and memory and may shield the brain from age-related cognitive decline, according to new research published in The Journal of Physiology. This understanding of exercise is a component of the effort to create non-pharmacological treatments that are universally affordable, accessible, and effective in promoting healthy aging.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a specialized protein, encourages neuroplasticity (the capacity of the brain to develop new connections and pathways), as well as the survival of neurons. According to research conducted on animals, BDNF availability increases memory formation and storage, improves learning, and generally improves cognitive performance. The importance of BDNF for aging research is a result of these crucial roles as well as its apparent neuroprotective properties.
Lead author Travis Gibbons from University of Otago, New Zealand said: "BDNF has shown great promise in animal models, but pharmaceutical interventions have thus far failed to safely harness the protective power of BDNF in humans. We saw the need to explore non-pharmacological approaches that can preserve the brain's capacity which humans can use to naturally increase BDNF to help with healthy aging."
Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand investigated the following variables to examine the solo and combined effects of fasting and exercise on BDNF production:
In comparison to one day of fasting with or without a lengthy session of gentle activity, they discovered that brief but vigorous exercise was the most effective approach to enhance BDNF. BDNF increased by four to five times (396 pg L-1 to 1170 pg L-1) more when compared to extended activity or fasting, which had no effect on BDNF levels. (slight increase in BDNF concentration, 336 pg L-1 to 390 pg L-1).
* Light exercise (90-minute low intensity cycling),
More research is required to fully understand the mechanisms at play because the reason for these discrepancies is still unknown. One theory relates to glucose metabolism, the brain's main fuel source, and the cerebral substrate switch. The cerebral substrate switch occurs when the brain moves from one preferred fuel source to another in order to meet the body's energy requirements, such as when lactate is metabolized during exercise instead of glucose. When the brain switches from ingesting glucose to lactate, several pathways are set off, which raise the blood levels of BDNF.
The increased quantity of platelets, the smallest blood cell, which are known to contain high amounts of BDNF, may be the cause of the BDNF rise that has been reported during exercise. Exercise exerts a 20% greater influence on the concentration of platelets in the blood than does fasting.
The study included 12 physically active participants (six men and six women, ages 18 to 56). Instead of showing sex disparities, the evenly split between male and female participants was intended to better represent the population.
In order to distinguish between the influence on BDNF and the cognitive benefits, more study is being done to go deeper into the effects of calorie restriction and exercise.
Travis Gibbons said: "We are now studying how fasting for longer durations, for example up to three days, influences BDNF. We are curious whether exercising hard at the start of a fast accelerates the beneficial effects of fasting. Fasting and exercise are rarely studied together. We think fasting and exercise can be used in conjunction to optimise BDNF production in the human brain.
Journal Reference: Travis D. Gibbons, James D. Cotter, Philip N. Ainslie, Wickliffe C. Abraham, Bruce G. Mockett, Holly A. Campbell, Emma M. W. Jones, Elliott J. Jenkins, Kate N. Thomas. Fasting for 20 h does not affect exercise‐induced increases in circulating BDNF in humans. The Journal of Physiology, 2023; DOI: 10.1113/JP283582
Source:
The Physiological Society. "Six minutes of high-intensity exercise could delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 January 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230112090919.htm>.
WNCtimes by Marjorie Farrington April 2023