Increased fitness may amplify brain boost following exercise

Increasing our level of physical fitness leads to a bigger release of brain-boosting proteins following one session of exercise, finds a new study led by a UCL researcher. The study, published in Brain Research, took a group of inactive unfit participants through a 12-week training program of cycling three times per week and made them fitter. Researchers found that as their fitness increased, so did the amount of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) released following exercise, resulting in improved brain function.