Brain function and exercise, the NY Times explores the latest science in brain function. Stimulation is important in childhood for mental and language development. Stimulation is also important for adults as well, and exercise may make our brain function and work better as well. Exercise is an important type of stimulation our brain needs. Until recently, it was assumed that the human brain was static and over time degenerated. We now understand that brains through neuroplasticity continue to remodel and re-synapse, as we learn new habits and skills. Recently, scientists at the University of Maryland as recently as 2013 wondered about the effect of exercise on older adults as it relates to semantic memory. According to the NY Times, Semantic memory is our knowledge of the world and our culture. As we age, semantic memory is one of the age related parts of our memory which starts to fade. There is growing evidence that exercise improves semantic memory. Read more about this fascinating information on how exercise affects our brain function and can be important especially in older adults to help them improve their semantic memory and overall brain function How Exercise Affects Our Memory Even a single workout may make our brain’s memory centers, like our muscles, more fit. Gretchen Reynolds By Gretchen Reynolds May 1, 2019 A single, moderate workout may immediately change how our brains function and how well we recognize common names and similar information, according to a promising new study of exercise, memory and aging. The study adds to growing evidence that exercise can have rapid effects on brain function and also that these effects could accumulate and lead to long-term improvements in how our brains operate and we remember. Until recently, scientists thought that by adulthood, human brains were relatively fixed in their structure and function, especially compared to malleable tissues, like muscle, that continually grow and shrivel in direct response to how we live our lives. But multiple, newer experiments have shown that adult brains, in fact, can be quite plastic, rewiring and reshaping themselves in various ways, depending on our lifestyles. Exercise, for instance, is known to affect our brains. In animal experiments, exercise increases the production of neurochemicals and the numbers of newborn neurons in mature brains and improves the animals’ thinking abilities. Similarly, in people, studies show that regular exercise over time increases the volume of the hippocampus, a key part of the brain’s memory networks. It also improves many aspects of people’s thinking. Read more