A team of researchers from the University of Tsukuba has found that only ten minutes of moderate-intensity running can help the part of the brain that plays an important role in controlling mood and executive functions. The study has been published in the ‘Scientific Reports Journal’.
There’s clear evidence that physical activity has many benefits, such as the ability to improve mood, but in previous studies, cycling was often the form of exercise studied. Running, however, has always played an important role in the well-being of humans.
Despite this fact, researchers had not yet looked closely at the effects of running on brain regions that control mood and executive functions.
“Given the extent of executive control required in coordinating balance, movement, and propulsion during running, it is logical that there would be increased neuronal activation in the prefrontal cortex and that other functions in this region would benefit from this increase in brain resources,” explained Professor Hideaki Soya.
To test their hypothesis, the research team used the well-established Stroop Color-Word Test and captured data on hemodynamic changes associated with brain activity while participants were engaged in each task.
For example, in one task, incongruent information is shown, i.e., the word red is written in green, and the participant must name the color rather than read out the word. To do so, the brain must process both sets of information and inhibit extraneous information. The Stroop interference effect was quantified by the difference in response times for this task and those for a simpler version of the task — stating the names of color swatches.
The results demonstrated that, after ten minutes of moderate-intensity running, there was a significant reduction in Stroop interference effect time. Furthermore, bilateral prefrontal activation had significantly increased during the Stroop task. After running, participants reported being in a better mood.
(ANI)
