A New Approach to Health: Marrying Neuroscience and

Physical Training

SUPER BODY, SUPER BRAIN Marrying Fitness and Neuroscience

HONORS AND AWARDS

-Award for Fitness Excellence by Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota Governor and Presidential candidate

-Grant recipient in Parkinson Disease-Anderson Foundation- implementation: Capistrant Parkinson Center, Bethesda hospital

-Award for Fitness Excellence by Mayor Chris Coleman, St Paul, Minnesota

-Amazon Best Seller-Hardcover and Kindle Format

Latest Studies in Neuroscience, Exercise Science and Nutrition

NEUROSCIENCE APPLIED TO FITNESS• The More we use our brain the better physical and mental results• The more active we are the greater connectivity between brain regions

EXERCISE SCIENCE1- Biomechanics: the more muscles we use the better for a greater

health/ Cardiovascular activity not only help us get fit but also get smarter. Creation of BDNF

2. Can I get stronger at 93?

NUTRITION AND INTELLIGENCE• Nutrition Vs Intelligence: High Saturated fats destroys BDNF,

Omega 3 diet enhances BDNF

EXERCISE AND AGING. A study from Harvard University concluded that lack of brain activity

between different areas of the brain means faster aging.

Myths about Exercise and Aging

Myth 1: Exercise is useless and a waste of my time. I’m getting old anyway.

Fact: Exercise and strength training helps your muscles, bones look and feel younger and stay active longer. Regular physical activity lowers your risk for a variety of conditions, including cognitive decline like Alzheimer ’s

and dementia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, and obesity.

Myth 2: Elderly people shouldn’t move. They should save their energy, strength and rest.

Fact: Research that a sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy for the elderly. Period. Inactivity often causes seniors shows to lose the ability to do things on their own and can lead to more hospitalizations, doctor visits, and use

of medicines for illnesses.

Myth 3: Exercise is risky and puts me at risk of falling down.Fact: Regular exercise, by building strength and stamina, prevents loss of bone mass and improves balance,

actually reducing your risk of falling.

Myth 4: It’s too late. I’m already too old, to start exercisingFact: You’re never too old to exercise Studies are showing how you can increase muscle fiber plasticity at 93!.

Myth 5: I’m injured and disabled. I can’t exercise sitting down.Fact: Seated exercises are the best functional exercises to improve strength, stamina and even balance or

coordination!

Motor circuits-why are they so complicated?2 types of Signals

Efferent messagesOr motor neurons

Afferent messagesOr sensory neurons

Brain and Movement-basics

• Voluntary

• Planning an Intentional movement

• Sensory Proprioceptors

Neuroplasticity vs Neurogenesis

• Movement affects both

• Exercise affects both

• Cardiovascular and complex training the best

Motor Cortex: Controls our voluntary movements

Toes

Ankle

Knee

Hip

Trunk

Shoulder

Elbow

Wrist

Hand

Little

Ring

index

thumb

neck

brow

Eye lid

Face

lips

Jaw

Tongue

Swallowing

2. PLANNING AN INTENTIONAL MOVEMENTThe Treasure of the brain lies at its bottom: The Cerebellum

Cerebellum:

50% of all NeuronsFunctions:Balance

CoordinationMuscle Timing

PostureLearning-speech

Intentional MovementBrain-Muscle Connection

Simple versus Complex movement Different Brain Activity

Source: Jaap Murre Chapters 4, 5, and 6T his lecture can be found at: http://www.memory.uva.nl/np/motor

Complex Movement Uses more brain areas

The more areas we use the greater healthAnd connectivity between brain regions, Hillman, 2010

The Sensory System: Proprioceptors are key for Movement

PROPRIOCEPTORS

Human Movement: How do we move- Biomechanics

A very complicated process- Brain-Motor Plasticity

Central nervous System (CNS)

Motor Command Body Movement Sensors

Sensory Processing& Control

Plan

Multi-

sensory

Signals

VisionVestibular

Deltoid Muscle Spindle

Ankle Proprioceptor

Calf-Soleus Spindle

Cerebellum

Movement Starts:Raise arms&heels

Core Activation

Exercise and Intelligence BDNF

“Our most celebrated protein”

Source: University of Bologna

http://www.ricercaitaliana.it/prin/unita_op_en-2005057070_004.htm

Nutrition vs Intelligence

Debate:

• Multitasking good or bad?

• Stress good or bad?

• Exercises

Exercise and Memory

2 Types of memory:

• Explicit: found in the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe----dealing with facts or events through conscious recall

• Implicit found in the cerebellum, amygdala and reflex pathways dealing with motor tasks or perceptual skills through unconscious recall

• “Once you master explicit memory allows it to be part of the implicit since it is more efficient”

Sensory, Short and Long term Memory

Sensory, Short term and long term:Sensory memoryThe sensory memories act as buffers for stimuli received through the senses.

Short Term memoryThe idea of short term memory simply means that you are retaining information for a

short period of time without creating the neural mechanisms for later recallLong Term memoryLong term memory occurs when you have created neural pathways for storing ideas

and information which can then pass and be recalled weeks, months, or even years later. To create these pathways, you must make a deliberate attempt to encode the information in the way that you intend to recall it later.

Mechanisms: Visual memory, material must be actively visualized. Auditory memory Kinesthetic

Memory and the Brain

5 TIPS TO PREVENT COGNITIVE DECLINEDeclineCognitive abilities such as attention, memory, auditory processes, motor

coordination or executive functions like planning or multitasking deteriorate over the time unless used regularly

TIPS:1.- Keep your Mind motivated and your brain active in any field that makes you constantly learn:

reading,  problem solving, brain fitness exercises, learning a language, playing an instrument or a memory game.

2.- Work your brain with movement. You can train your brain with movement in several ways:a.- From left to right b.- From Front to back c.- From your sixth sense (proprioception) d.-From constant learning of  new movements  e.- Movement mastery f.- Practice cardiovascular activity daily.

3.- Eating can influence your brain in a powerful way. Foods with high antioxidants, low fats, low sugars (apples, yogurt, berries salmon, walnuts, strawberries)

4.- Stay active! keep yourself socially active and make sure you are surrounded by great friends:  you can join a book club, walking club or a gym. Staying socially active is really important.

5. Meditate daily.. Meditation helps reduce stress and increase oxygen flow to the brain. Practice daily meditation to achieve a powerful, calmer mind and a more focused brain.

The body

Biomechanics and Motor control of Movement

Biomechanics of human movement can be defined as the interdiscipline which describes analyzes and asses human

movement

Movement analysis can range from the average gait to the star athlete

Human movement science is kinesiology

ADULT MOTOR BEHAVIOR IS HIGHLY adaptive and can be modified in response to a variety of different motor experiences, including skill, strength, and endurance training. Acquired motor behaviors also endure in the absence of continued training, demonstrating that motor experience is somehow persistently encoded within the nervous system.

There is now extensive evidence that motor training can induce structural and functional adaptation ("plasticity") within several motor areas, including basal ganglia ( 13, 21, 39 ), cerebellum ( 14, 47, 48 ), and red nucleus ( 27 ). The present review focuses on plasticity within motor cortex and spinal cord that occurs in response to skill, exercise, and endurance training.

http://journal.shouxi.net/qikan/article.php?id=366151

Functional training offers great results

strength training,a method of improving muscular strength by gradually increasing the ability to resist force through the use of free weights, machines, or the person's own body weight. Strength training sessions are designed to

impose increasingly greater resistance, which in turn stimulates development of muscle strength to meet the added demand.

Strength Training(Adding Resistance

to one’s Body Weight)

Hypertrophy

Endurance

Body Weight

*Resistance*Free Weights

*Machines

Strength Training

Most studies

ACSM states that strength training With additional resistance or weights is the best

Great program As long as Combined

With Strength and resistance

STRENGTH TRAININGBENEFITS

MUSCULARSTRENGTH

BALANCESCHEMICALS IN

THE BRAIN

REDUCES BODY FAT

PROMOTES WEIGHT LOSS

BALANCES HORMONES

NEURONAL GROWTH

CARDIOVASCULARHEALTH (BP, RHR,BPM)

BONE DENSITY JOINTS RESILIENCE

POSTURE ALIGNMENT

ImprovesImmune System

Fights Disease

(flu&others)

FLEXIBILTY MAKES USGET SMARTER

DEPRESSION&ANXIETY(MILD)

ANTI-AGING EFFECTS(movement)

“Strength training is the absolute best exercise program”

American College Sports of Medicine

Brain, Strength Training and Movement

From left to right From Front to back

From your senses(proprioception)

From your heartFrom Movement

learning

EYES CLOSED HAND-EYE COORDINATION

5 ways of Training theBrain with

Strength trainingmovements