NEUROBIOLOGIA |
Efectos beneficiosos del ejercicio físico sobre el cerebro |
[RESUMEN]ABSTRACT
The ancient roman saying "Mens sana in corpore sano"
already acknowledged the strong relationship between physical and mental well-being.
However, scientists have only recently started to analyze the effects of physical
exercise on brain function. At first, the beneficial effects of exercise were
mostly ascribed to enhanced blood flow to the brain. Brain cells are thus kept
healthier because they are better fed and oxygenated. Although this might be
an important aspect of the effects of exercise on brain physiology, physical
activity exerts a great variety of effects on the brain. We are now in the process
of understanding these actions, which cannot be explained solely on the basis
of enhanced nutrient supply to the brain. For instance, declining cognitive
abilities related to normal aging can be ameliorated not only by maintaining
an engaged intellectual life but also by physical exercise, and we do not yet
understand the mechanisms involved. Furthermore, the practice of exercise is
an excellent protection against neurodegenerative diseases and contributes to
diminish the impact of ongoing neurodegeneration. In this overview, we address
possible mechanisms underlying the positive effects of exercise on brain function,
although we are well aware that we still do not know them in detail.
Essentially, physical exercise appears to activate house-keeping and protective
processes involved in what we may call physiological neuroprotection. If exercise
protects the brain against both internal and external insults during the normal
lifespan of an individual, it is obvious that sedentary life, a marked trait
of modern societies, constitutes a risk factor for the increasing incidence
of devastating neurodegenerative illnesses. The bottom line is straightforward:
neurodegenerative diseases can be grouped along with cardiovascular diseases
as pathological entities where sedentarism is a risk factor.