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Brain echoes: How today’s exercise may impact your thoughts weeks later

In a rare, longitudinal study of precision #neuroscience, researchers from Aalto University and the University of Oulu tracked one person’s brain and behavioural activity for five months using twice weekly MRI scans plus data from wearable devices and smartphones.

The study sees how brain activity evolves in response to sleep patterns, physical activity, mood, and respiration rate over many days. This suggests that even a workout or a restless night from last week could still affect your brain — and therefore your attention, cognition and memory — fifteen days later.

The researchers aim to combine brain data with everyday life to help personalise mental health treatment.

‘We must bring data from daily life into the lab to see the full picture of how our habits shape the brain, but surveys can be tiring and inaccurate,’ says study co-author, neuroscientist and physician Dr Nick Hayward.

‘Combining concurrent physiology with repeated brain scans in one person is crucial. Our approach gives context to neuroscience and delivers very fine detail to our understanding of the brain.’

The study is published today in PLOS Biology:

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002797

Read the full press release from Aalto University:

https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/echoes-in-the-brain-why-todays-workout-could-fuel-next-weeks-bright-idea

Image courtesy of Microsoft Designer – a futuristic brain arising from lines of fast movement with colours and sharp geometry.

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