Can physical exercise improve perceptual and cognitive abilities?

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25282216
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Shimegi Satoshi 大阪大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (20271033)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KITSUKAWA TAKASHI 大阪大学, 大学院生命機能研究科, 准教授 (10311193)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: アセチルコリン / 視覚情報処理 / 認知行動 / 一次視覚野 / 反応ゲイン調節 / 記憶想起 / ムスカリン受容体 / 神経修飾物質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Physical exercise has been hypothesized to improve the cognitive functions via the actions of neuromodulators such as acetylcholine. To elucidate the actions of acetylcholine (ACh) on visual perceptual and cognitive functions and the underlying neuronal mechanisms, we conducted the behavioral, electrophysiological, and neuropharmacological experiments on long-evans rats. The animal performed visual stimulus detection task with or without receiving ACh-related drugs. Increasing brain ACh concentration improved behavioral stimulus detectability, and decreasing one impaired the execution of the task itself because of the retrieval difficulty of long-term memory concerning the task. ACh applied directly to the primary visual cortex facilitated or suppressed the neuronal visual responses in a modulatory manner of response gain control which optimizes visual information processing.

Free Research Field

認知行動科学