Exercise alters brain chemistry to protect aging synapses: Enhanced nerve transmission seen in older adults who remained active

 

Lena Vermette

1/13/22

University of California - San Francisco. "Exercise alters brain chemistry to protect aging synapses: Enhanced nerve transmission seen in older adults who remained active." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 January 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220107100955.htm>.

According to the University of California article, “Exercise alters brain chemistry to protect aging synapses: Enhanced nerve transmission seen in older adults who remained active” a recent study with human involved trials has proven that exercise can ensure the synapses of elders function for longer. The explanation behind this, is that there has been a strong correlation between elders exercising regularly and there being more proteins in the brain that help strengthen the connections between neurons. An interesting detail that sets apart this study from many others with similar topics, is that this is the first study performed with humans as opposed to mice. Kaitlin Casaletto, an assistant professor of neurology and lead author on the study states, “Our work is the first that uses human data to show that synaptic protein regulation is related to physical activity and may drive the beneficial cognitive outcomes we see” This is a major step in the research done on this topic because it is a much more challenging feat to study the human brain synapses in relation to physical activity as the mouse brain. One of the factors mentioned in the article that makes this study successful, is that the participants have agreed to donate their brains for scientific research after their deaths so that their brain can be further examined in a lab.

            This article is extremely relevant to society. Information that being proactive about physical activity as an elder can benefit brain health is a big motivator for many elders; especially if they are experiencing dementia. In the words of Casaletto, “Maintaining the integrity of these connections between neurons may be vital to fending off dementia, since the synapse is really the site where cognition happens” Not only does exercise prevent synapses from aging, but it can also help people with memory loss regain some of the strength between their neurons. This article also connects to society because the study is occurring outside of a lab. Unlike mice who are locked in the lab and monitored throughout the day, the subjects of this study live normal, human lives. People in society interact with the subjects and are not even aware. This study is so integrated that it would not be evident that an elder is partaking in the experiment unless someone was informed of this.

One tactic that is done well in this article, is the cross reference of another study to show the reader that more proteins do in fact make the brain more stable and functionable, “This result dovetailed with Honer's earlier finding that people who had more of these proteins in their brains when they died were better able to maintain their cognition late in life.” This reference to earlier findings help support the claim that is present within this study. Without the knowledge of proteins being beneficial to the brain, the finding that exercise at an old age creates more proteins would be useless. Despite this strength, a weakness in the article is that it does not specify much of the requirements for being a participant in the study. This can have a major impact on the results of the data and so it is important to inform the reader of these details. In order to make the requirements more clear, the author can state the age range of the participants and the amount of exercise they partake in. To help the reader further understand the information provided