Did you know that if you exercise your muscles, they will produce a hormone (IL-6) that acts anti-inflammatory. Indirectly, therefore, too little exercise can lead to dementia and depression. It works in the following way. If too little IL-6 is produced, the body tissue can become inflamed. Because of the inflamed body tissue, more TNF-alpha is produced to counter the inflammation. However, because of an increased concentration of TNF-alpha in the blood, the body becomes less sensitive to insuline. This insuline resistance can lead to an over-production of insuline, which leads to less production of the substance BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF is very important for brain plasticity and neuronal growth. Besides IL-6, the muscles are also producing BDNF. So it seems that the enlightenment philosophers were right, a healthy mind is in a healthy body. The classical philosophers were aware of this as well.
2 Comments
New
6/14/2011 12:59:59 am
I could really use the information to my advantage. Thanks for the consistent updates in this blog.
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Mr Hansson
6/14/2011 07:23:07 pm
New, my phrasing led to a misunderstanding. I meant that the classical philosophers, like the enlightenment philosophers, knew that exercise was good for the mind. Of course they did not know the exact body functions for it.
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AuthorThis is my class blog for IB Psychology. Here I will publish reflections on psychology, reviews of psychology books, recommended links, lecture notes, and information on psychology topics that are not covered by the syllabus. You are free to add comments or ask me questions. Archives
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