Thursday, July 15, 2010

How exercise stimulates brain nerve cell growth

Human and animal brains produce new brain cells (neurogenesis), and exercise increases this process. Gretchen Reynolds reviews work of Cage and others suggesting a mechanism for how this works: exercise lowers the levels of a protein (BMP, or bone morphogenetic protein) that suppresses nerve cell division in the hippocampus. 

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous4:46 PM

    So what happens in the case of over-exercise?

    ReplyDelete