Exercise really does make you clever: Fit children have better memories say experts
By Claire Bates
Last updated at 5:28 PM on 16th September 2010Running around in the playground is not just good for a child's physical health - it also improves their memories, according to a study.
Researchers found children who were fitter tended to have a bigger hippocampus - the area deep in the brain associated with learning.
The study, published in the journal Brain Research, found the more active youngsters also performed better on memory tests.
Physically fit children performed better in memory tests and had larger hippocampi, according to a new study (posed)
Study leader Professor Charles Hillman, of the University of Illinois, said: 'This is the first study I know of that has used MRI measures to look at differences in brain between kids who are fit and kids who aren't fit.
'Beyond that, it relates those measures of brain structure to cognition.'
The team tested the physical fitness of a group of 49 nine and 10 year olds by measuring their oxygen levels while running on a treadmill. They then took MRI scans of their brains.
The results revealed that the physically fit children had hippocampi that were 12 per cent larger relative to their brain size than their out-of-shape peers.
They also performed better on tests of relational memory - the ability to remember and integrate various types of information.
Doctoral student Laura Chaddock said: 'Higher fit children had higher performance on the relational memory task, higher fit children had larger hippocampal volumes, and in general, children with larger hippocampal volumes had better relational memory.'
She added that previous studies supported their findings.
'In animal studies, exercise has been shown to specifically affect the hippocampus, significantly increasing the growth of new neurons and cell survival, enhancing memory and learning, and increasing molecules that are involved in the plasticity of the brain,' Miss Chaddock said.
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Definitely worth knowing!
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