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"In the last several years there have been data suggestingthat neurobiological changes are happening -- [there are] verybrain-specific mechanisms at work here," says Bucci, anassociate professor in the Department of Psychological and BrainSciences. From his studies, Bucci and his collaborators have revealedimportant new findings: The effects of exercise are different on memory as well as on thebrain, depending on whether the exerciser is an adolescent or anadult. A gene has been identified which seems to mediate the degree towhich exercise has a beneficial effect. This has implications forthe potential use of exercise as an intervention for mentalillness. Bucci began his pursuit of the link between exercise and memorywith attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), one of themost common childhood psychological disorders. Bucci is concernedthat the treatment of choice seems to be medication. "The notion of pumping children full of psycho-stimulants atan early age is troublesome," Bucci cautions. "We franklydon't know the long-term effects of administering drugs at an earlyage -- drugs that affect the brain -- so looking for alternativetherapies is clearly important." Anecdotal evidence from colleagues at the University of Vermontstarted Bucci down the track of ADHD. Based on observations of ADHDchildren in Vermont summer camps, athletes or team sports playerswere found to respond better to behavioral interventions than moresedentary children. While systematic empirical data is lacking,this association of exercise with a reduction of characteristicADHD behaviors was persuasive enough for Bucci. Coupled with his interest in learning and memory and theirunderlying brain functions, Bucci and teams of graduate andundergraduate students embarked upon a project of scientificinquiry, investigating the potential connection between exerciseand brain function. They published papers documenting theirresults, with the most recent now available in the online versionof the journal Neuroscience . Bucci is quick to point out that "the teams of both graduateand undergraduates are responsible for all this work, certainly notjust me." Michael Hopkins, a graduate student at the time, isfirst author on the papers. Early on, laboratory rats that exhibit ADHD-like behaviordemonstrated that exercise was able to reduce the extent of thesebehaviors. The researchers also found that exercise was morebeneficial for female rats than males, similar to how itdifferentially affects male and female children with ADHD. Moving forward, they investigated a mechanism through whichexercise seems to improve learning and memory. This is "brainderived neurotrophic factor" (BDNF) and it is involved ingrowth of the developing brain. The degree of BDNF expression inexercising rats correlated positively with improved memory, andexercising as an adolescent had longer lasting effects compared tothe same duration of exercise, but done as an adult. "The implication is that exercising during development, asyour brain is growing, is changing the brain in concert with normaldevelopmental changes, resulting in your having more permanentwiring of the brain in support of things like learning andmemory," says Bucci. "It seems important to [exercise]early in life." Bucci's latest paper was a move to take the studies of exercise andmemory in rats and apply them to humans. The subjects in this newstudy were Dartmouth undergraduates and individuals recruited fromthe Hanover community. Bucci says that, "the really interesting finding was that,depending on the person's genotype for that trophic factor [BDNF],they either did or did not reap the benefits of exercise onlearning and memory. This could mean that you may be able topredict which ADHD child, if we genotype them and look at theirDNA, would respond to exercise as a treatment and which oneswouldn't." Bucci concludes that the notion that exercise is good for healthincluding mental health is not a huge surprise. "Theinteresting question in terms of mental health and cognitivefunction is how exercise affects mental function and thebrain." This is the question Bucci, his colleagues, andstudents continue to pursue. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as CE4 Cartomizer , 510 Electronic Cigarettes for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Elips E Cigarette.
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