A new study from the University of Jyvaskyla (Finland), performed on rats, had some provocative findings about what type of exercise drives the most new neurons (neurogenesis) in the brain. For the first time, scientists compared the effect on the brain of running, weight training (rats climbed walls with little weights attached to their tails) and high-intensity interval training (sprinting on little treadmills, slowing and repeating). A substance was injected in the rats’ brains to track the creation of new brain cells and the runners showed by far the most brain cell creation: their hippocampus teemed with new neurons, while the high-intensity interval training showed far fewer neurons created and the weight training showed no neurogenesis.
Rats aren’t people, but the research is eye opening. Access it here: http://www.wellnessevidence.com/wellnessevidence/exercise/spotlight
