Wal­ter van den Broek (AKA Dr Shock) pro­vides a sum­mary of the research on the neu­ro­science of exer­cise, or: the cog­ni­tive ben­e­fits of an active lifestyle. Exer­cise…

  • improves learn­ing and intel­li­gence scores.
  • increases the resilience of the brain in later life result­ing in a cog­ni­tive reserve.
  • [atten­u­ates] the decline of mem­ory, cor­tex and hip­pocam­pus atro­phy in aging humans.
  • improves mem­ory and cognition.
  • pro­tects against brain dam­age caused by stroke.
  • pro­motes recov­ery after brain injury.
  • can be an antidepressant.

Report­ing on a study con­ducted at the Neu­ro­plas­tic­ity and Behav­ioral Unit, National Insti­tute on Aging (part of the National Insti­tutes of Health), van den Broek also looks at foods that have been shown to be ben­e­fi­cial for learn­ing (among other brain func­tions), in addi­tion to pro­vid­ing a bit of neu­ro­science on how exer­cise actu­ally “improves the brain”.