Charging for synapses

Sport changes the chemical composition of the brain, protecting synapses from aging

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

Scientists have found that against the background of an active lifestyle, more proteins are produced in the human brain, which strengthen the connections between neurons. Amazingly, the effect persists even with severe dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, slowing their progression.

There are various mechanisms explaining the benefits of anti-aging sports, and now a new one has been found: scientists from the University of California at San Francisco has shown for the first time that the regulation of synaptic proteins is associated with physical activity and contributes to the improvement of cognitive functions. To come to this conclusion, they analyzed more than 400 brain samples of deceased elderly people. Knowing about the level of their physical activity in recent years (volunteers took part in the project "Memory and Aging" and agreed to donate their brains for research), scientists studied its effect on the state of the brain.

It turned out that people who lead an active lifestyle had more proteins in their brains, which strengthened synaptic connections that ensure the transfer of information between neurons. These results are consistent with the authors' earlier findings that increased amounts of these proteins are associated with more effective cognitive function at the end of life.

Then scientists discovered two striking features of this mechanism. Firstly, its protective effect was found even in people whose brains were riddled with toxic protein plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists believe that synaptic integrity probably weakened the connections between beta-amyloid and tau protein, slowing the progression of the disease.

Secondly, the protective effect extended not only to the hippocampus, the memory center, but also to other areas of the brain.

"Perhaps physical activity has a global supportive effect, preserving and stimulating the healthy function of proteins that facilitate synaptic connections throughout the brain," said co—author William Hohner. The results obtained are another proof in favor of an active lifestyle at any age and especially for the elderly with an increased risk of neurodegeneration.

Meanwhile , scientists from Harvard showed that physical activity provokes physiological stress in the body, which turned out to be necessary for health promotion. As a result, a whole cascade of useful reactions is triggered, which work as a preventive measure.

Article by Casaletto et al. Late-life physical activity relates to brain tissue synaptic integrity markers in older adults published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association – WM.

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