Fitness and Your Brain: What BDNF Can Do For You

Regular readers of the Geezer doubtless recall earlier reports (here and here) on research suggesting that exercise is as good for the brain as it is for the body. Now, in part one of a two-part series on lifestyle and brain fitness, Science News rounds up several studies and a small army of experts to lock up the issue, most persuasively with a discussion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. BDNF, it turns out, is a good thing. It is one several neurotrophic factors released during exercise, and research has shown it to prompt brain benefits on its own and
trigger a cascade of other neural health–promoting chemicals to
spring into action. Bottom like: Fitness prompts nerve cells to multiply, strengthens their connections, and protects them from harm. Read more here.