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Exercise and the Brain

Effects of physical exercise on brain structure and function throughout the lifespan

Cardiovascular exercise has been demonstrated as a potent stimulus for producing structural changes in the brain. Our project seeks to better understand the nature and time course of the brain changes induced by exercise and to use exercise as a tool to gain a greater understanding of how brain plasticity can be studied using magnetic resonance imaging.

Investigators:  Naiara Demnitz, Jill Betts, Claire Sexton, Adam Thomas, Heidi Johansen-Berg

Collaborators:  Andrea Dennis, Klaus Ebmeier, Helen Dawes

Current Funders: NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford

 Selected publications

  1. Thomas A, Dennis A, Bandettini PA, Johansen-Berg H (2012). The effects of aerobic activity on brain structure. Front. Psychology. 3:86.