New research on mice shows that running in midlife keeps adult-born brain cells alive and connected

Words Rachel Ifans

The discovery that humans keep creating new brain cells in the hippocampus as adults has led to new research into the effect of exercise on the brain

| | The study on rats and mice found that running ramped up the creation of new brain cells in the hippocampus||

It’s not news that exercise is good for our brains, but a recent study has helped scientists understand more about why this is true.

The study, carried out by Carmen Vivar et al, involved separating a group of middle-aged mice into two groups; one group was given access to a running wheel and the other wasn’t. The study’s findings showed that ‘long-term running increases hippocampal neurogenesis and modifies the network of new neurons that were born in young adult mice, in a manner that optimally supports memory function at middle age’.

Adult-born brain cells

Let’s break that down. It’s all to do with neurogenesis, which is the process by which new neurons (nerve cells) are formed in the brain. While we’ve always known that neurogenesis happens in a developing embryo, we now also know that it continues in certain brain regions after birth and throughout our lifespan.

Dr Alice Penn, a medical doctor now turned brain coach and Neuroplastician (alicepennmd. com), explains: “Neural cells form in the embryo and the brain keeps developing throughout childhood. We used to be taught that, after about the age 25, neurogenesis stopped and no new cells were formed, but in the late 90s, scientists started to see new adult-born cells.”