cognitive function tagged posts

Aerobic exercise preserves brain volume and improves cognitive function

Using a new MRI technique, researchers found adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who exercised 4 times a week over a 6-month period experienced an increase in brain volume in specific, or local, areas of the brain, but adults who participated in aerobic exercise experienced greater gains than those who just stretched. The study included 35 adults with MCI participating in a randomized, controlled trial of exercise intervention. Individuals with MCI are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) which affects >5 million Americans today.

The participants were divided into two groups...

Methylmercury bioaccumulation

Cognitive function improves with aerobic exercise, but not for people exposed to high levels of mercury before birth, according to research funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Adults with high prenatal exposure to methylmercury, which mainly comes from maternal consumption of fish with high mercury levels, did not experience the faster cognitive processing and better short term memory benefits of exercise that were seen in those with low prenatal methylmercury exposures.

This is one of the first studies to examine how methylmercury exposure in the womb may affect cognitive function in adults...

Consuming fish oil instead of lard makes a significant difference in brain function. New research shows that brain function remains normal and manages to restrain from eating more than necessary when this type of fat is consumed. Credit: © colnihko / Fotolia

A diet high in saturated fat can make your brain struggle to control what you eat, says a new study in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. If people are looking to lose weight, stay clear of saturated fat. Consuming these types of fatty food affects a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which helps regulate hunger. The fat causes inflammation that impedes the brain to control the food intake. In other words, people struggle to control how much they eat, when to stop and what type of food to eat – symptoms seen in obesity.

The s...

Few studies have investigated the association between physical activity in early adulthood and cognitive function later in life. Watching a lot of TV and having a low physical activity level as a young adult were associated with worse cognitive function 25 years later in midlife. The study of 3,247 adults (ages 18 to 30) used a questionnaire to assess television viewing and physical activity during repeated visits over 25 years. High television viewing was defined as watching TV for more than 3 hours per day for more than 2/3 of the visits and exercise was measured as units based on time and intensity. Cognitive function was evaluated at year 25 using three tests that assessed processing speed, executive function and verbal memory.

Participants with high television viewing during 25 ...