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New groundbreaking research shows that signals emitted by the muscles to the brain can be just as important as vice versa. Regularly training the legs appears to be necessary for a healthy functioning nervous system.
Never skip brainday
You already knew you should never
skip leg day. Now, however, there appears to be a much more important reason for this than preventing pencil legs. New research shows that brain health is just as dependent on signals sent by the leg muscles to the brain as it is the other way around. It’s a significant new insight into the neurology and science of the nervous system, which has primarily focused on the brain’s control of muscles. It also provides an explanation for the rapid decline seen in patients with neurological problems once their mobility is restricted.
Dr. Raffaella Adami of Università degli Studi di Milano explains:
Our research supports the idea that people who cannot do resistance exercises such as patients, or even astronauts, not only lose muscle mass. The chemical composition of their body changes at the cellular level, and the nervous system is negatively affected.
Dr. Raffaella Adami of Università degli Studi di Milano
Training Legs for Healthy Nerve Cells
For the study, researchers used mice that were unable to use their hind legs for 28 days. The mice ate and behaved normally (under the circumstances) during this period and showed no signs of stress. At the end of the study, a part of the brain called the subventricular zone was studied. In this area, stem cells produce new neurons, which helps maintain healthy nerve cells.
Limiting the movement of the hind legs reduced the number of stem cells by 70% compared to the control group of mice. It was also found that both neurons and oligodendrocytes, specialized cells that support nerve cells, did not fully mature when movement was severely restricted.
This indicates that using the leg muscles, especially to move weight, sends signals to the brain that are necessary for healthy brain cells. These, in turn, are required for a healthy nervous system and healthy brain. Reducing physical activity makes it more difficult for the body to create new nerve cells.
If you skip leg day
“Neurological health is not a one-way street where the brain tells the muscles to lift something,” says Adami. “We are meant to be active. To walk, run, squat, and sit and use our legs to lift things.”
By looking at individual cells, the researchers gained even more insight. They found that limiting movement reduces the amount of oxygen in the body, creating an anaerobic environment and altering metabolism. It also impacts two genes, one of which is very important for the health of mitochondria, the cell’s energy powerhouses. This thus creates a second vicious cycle.
Colleague researcher and co-author of the study Dr. Daniele Bottai has been studying neurological diseases since 2004. He wondered if the severe consequences of certain neurological conditions were only the result of damaged spinal cord or genetic mutations. Now it turns out that limited mobility is not only a consequence but also a cause in itself.
References
news.sfsu.edu/news-story/breakthrough-sf-state-kinesiologists-studying-metabolic-protein
