By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
HealthDay
TUESDAY, Jan. 16, 2024 (HeathDay News) — Folks often feel more alert and savvy after a great workout, and dopamine might be the reason why.
A small, new study by British and Japanese researchers found higher levels of the “feel good” brain neurotransmitter were released by men during exercise.
In turn, that seemed tied to better performance on thinking tests, the researchers said.
“These latest findings support our previous theory that cognitive performance during exercise is affected by changes to brain-regulating hormones, including dopamine,” said study co-author Dr. Joe Costello.
He’s at the University of Portsmouth’s School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science, in England.
In the study, Costello and colleagues team had 52 men engage in three separate experiments.
All were having their brain activity monitored with sophisticated PET imagery during the experiments.
In one trial, men were asked to work on mentally challenging tasks while cycling lying down.
The second experiment had the men complete the same tasks, but this time they got “electrical muscle stimulation,” rather than a workout.
The third experiment had them completing mental tasks while working out and getting the electrical muscle stimulation.
Based on data from the PET scans, Costello’s group found a surge in dopamine release in the brain while men were actively working out — what’s known as “voluntary” exercise.
That uptick in dopamine was linked to improvements in…
