Identification of functional brain networks recruited by physical exercise and its plasticity

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K13017
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Sports science
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University
• Principal Investigator: KITA Ichiro 首都大学東京, 人間健康科学研究科, 教授 (10186223)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 西島 壮 首都大学東京, 人間健康科学研究科, 准教授 (10431678)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 運動 / 神経活動 / 機能的脳神経回路 / 免疫組織化学 / 相関分析 / 可塑性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Accumulating evidence suggested that physical exercise improves various brain functions, including memory and learning, emotion and cognitive/executive functions. The multiple effects of exercise on the brain function may be due to interaction of neural activation of multiple brain regions stimulated by exercise. In the present study, we tried to identify the functional brain network recruited by acute treadmill running in male Wistar rats, using c-Fos immunohistochemistry and correlation analysis. We found that the functional brain network recruited by exercise was formed depending on exercise intensity, and that chronic regular exercise could remodel the functional brain network recruited by acute exercise. These results suggest that the functional brain network recruited by exercise, which is defined by co-activation of multiple brain regions, may depend on intensity and duration of the exercise.

Free Research Field

運動生理学・行動神経科学