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Experimental evidence linking physical exercise with anatomical changes in the brain associated with improved cognitive functions

To understand the role of Brain Gym® it is imperative to understand the relationship between physical exercise and improved cognitive and mental functions. Recent scientific findings in the field of Neurophysiology and Human behavior suggest intriguing explanations for the Brain Gym® mechanism.

Eriksson and colleagues demonstrated that new neurons are generated from dividing progenitor cells in the Dentate Gyrus of adult humans. They concluded that the human hippocampus retains its ability to generate neurons throughout life. In their discussion the researches wrote: "Our study demonstrates that cell genesis occurs in human brains and that the human brain retains the potential for self renewals throughout life." This implies that learning capabilities are potentially present even in old age.

Employing whole brain magnetic resonance imaging, Draganski B. and colleagues observed activation of visual centers in the brains of twenty-four subjects who have learnt to juggle.

The findings demonstrated a transient and selective structural change in brain areas associated with the processing and storage of complex visual motion. Furthermore, these results contradicted the traditionally held view that the anatomy of the human brain does not alter except for irreversible changes associated with ageing and pathological conditions. Subsequently, the authors summarized their findings by concluding that: “Learning-induced cortical plasticity is also reflected at a structural level”.

This research also implies that the learning associated with complicated physical activities like juggling, and perhaps some others such as bicycle riding and possibly, standing on the head, may induce new neural networking in the brain.

In another related study Pereira and colleagues demonstrated a correlation between exercise and induced neurogenesis in the adult Dentate Gyrus. Specifically, exercise selectively increased Dentate Gyrus Cerebral Blood Volume (CBV) in both mice and Humans. Since the Dentate Gyrus is the Hippocampal sub-region important for memory and implicated in cognitive ageing, these findings indicate that physical exercise selectively influences cognitive functions of the brain.

Brain Gym® physical exercises are performed together with visualization (cognition). It is possible that performing simultaneously these two activities activates related regions in the brain. So the routing intensity and their effectiveness may be increased. Further tests are necessary to explore this idea.

The visualization role in Brain Gym® is yet to be explored. A possible link between visualization and brain functionality is suggested by the study of Hasson et al. The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains of experimental human subjects while watching a specific scene from a movie. The result revealed activation of identical brain regions in all experimental subjects occurring at a similar sequence. The scene that depicted delicate manual activity activated regions of the brain known to control delicate motor hand functions. Thus, the study suggests a possible connection between visual experience and the activation of specific brain regions, a phenomenon also manifested by the stimulation of regions in the brain associated with sexual stimulation while watching a pornographic scene.