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4 papers
This 2002 review looked at animal and human research on exercise and the brain. It reports that voluntary exercise in animals raises levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other growth factors, spurs the birth of new neurons, changes gene activity in ways that support plasticity, and can improve learning…
Many studies show that physical exercise helps brain health and can slow age-related thinking problems and lower the risk of some brain diseases and psychiatric disorders. A key part of these benefits is higher levels of the brain protein BDNF, which supports new brain cells and plasticity for learning and…
This review paper brings together animal and human studies to explain how alcohol and stress hormones may change the prefrontal cortex and the body’s stress system as drinking moves from casual use toward dependence. The authors say alcohol raises stress hormones (glucocorticoids) right away, and repeated heavy use can produce…
In a randomized trial, 98 adults with treatment-resistant depression had brain scans before and 24 hours after a single intravenous infusion of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or saline. The researchers measured mean diffusivity (DTI-MD), an MRI-based, indirect marker of microstructural brain change that tends to fall when new synapses or tissue…
