Holistic Health Show

Data present by Duke U researchers at the Society for Neuroscience meeting last month showed that exercise is a major factor in improving memory and mood after whole-brain radiation treatment in rodents. This is an exciting finding because whole brain radiation is sometimes used to treat brain cancer in humans.
In the study one group of mice that had radiation stayed in their cages under normal conditions of living with other mice, eating and playing as they liked. A different group of mice having radiation were given daily access to a cage with a running wheel which they could use if they wanted.
The mice were tested for how well they remembered spatial features in their environment for locating a preferred excape hole to exit a well lit maze abd hide., They were tested at two weeks and 3 months after radiation.
The mice that had radiation and access to running did as well as normal mice (without radiation) that didn’t exercise when it came to remembering where the hole was. Irradiated mice that did not have access to exercise eventually showed no preference for that section of the maze with the escape hole.
The researchers concluded that exercise seems to protect against the loss of memory and increased depressive like behavior.