We all know exercise is good for us. It’s been clear for hundreds (if not thousands) of years that keeping fit and mobile is important to keep your body in good nick, prevent diseases and improve your mental health.

Despite its myriad benefits for us, however, there always seems to be one insurmountable fact of life that exercise can’t conquer: our minds and bodies decline as we age. But now, in a new mice study published in the journal Aging Cell, researchers may have flipped that notion, at least partly, on its head. It turns out exercise might keep your mind young after all.

The study sheds light on how physical activity may prevent or slow down cognitive decline by rejuvenating the brain's immune cells and promoting neurogenesis.

The findings were revealed by delving into the intricate workings of the brain and assessing gene expression in individual cells. In particular, the team focused on microglia in mice, the immune cells of the central nervous system crucial for maintaining brain function.

What they discovered was remarkable: exercise significantly influences gene expression in microglia, effectively reversing age-related changes and restoring patterns akin to those found in younger microglia.

Moreover, the study revealed that microglia play a vital role in mediating the positive effects of exercise on the brain's ability to generate new neurons in the hippocampus, a region essential for memory, learning and emotion.

But the impact of exercise doesn't stop there. The researchers observed that providing mice with access to a running wheel not only prevented but also reduced the presence of T cells in the hippocampus during ageing.

These immune cells, typically absent in the youthful brain, tend to increase as individuals grow older, contributing to age-related cognitive decline.

Co-corresponding author of the study, Prof Jana Vukovic, expressed both surprise and excitement at the findings, emphasising the transformative potential of physical activity on the brain's immune system and its ability to reverse the negative impacts of ageing.

"It highlights the importance of normalising and facilitating access to tailored exercise programs," she said.

As the global population ages, understanding how lifestyle factors such as exercise can influence brain function is becoming increasingly crucial in developing strategies to support healthy ageing and combat age-related cognitive decline.

The authors hope that the study will pave the way for future research into tailored exercise interventions aimed at preserving cognitive function and enhancing overall well-being in older adults.

"Our findings should help different industries to design interventions for elderly individuals who are looking to maintain or improve both their physical and mental capabilities," Vukovic concluded.

So, what's the takeaway? Exercise isn't just about bulging biceps or toned abs anymore; it's about keeping your brain young and sharp, too.

About the expert

Jana Vukovic is an associate professor and Viertel Snr Medical Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her laboratory investigates how brain function is sculpted and influenced by the immune system. Specifically, we examine the role of the brain’s main resident immune cell population (i.e. microglia), as well as various peripheral immune cells, on learning and memory in mice. Her research has been published in esteemed journals such as Nature Communications and the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

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