Exercise to Reduce Anxiety

In an eye-opening demonstration of nature’s ingenuity, researchers at Princeton University recently discovered that exercise creates vibrant new brain cells — and then shuts them down when they shouldn’t be in action.  In the New York Times, Gretchen Reynolds writes...

"For some time, scientists studying exercise have been puzzled by physical activity’s two seemingly incompatible effects on the brain.  On the one hand, exercise is known to prompt the creation of new and very excitable brain cells.  At the same time, exercise can induce an overall pattern of calm in certain parts of the brain...

"The researchers studied runners’ brains and found they were 'teemed with many new, excitable neurons....'  The runners’ brains, however, also had a notable number of new neurons specifically designed to release the neurotransmitter GABA, which inhibits brain activity, keeping other neurons from firing easily.  In effect, these are nanny neurons, designed to shush and quiet activity in the brain."

Contributed by Zvia Dover

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