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A study found a bout of low intensity exercise boosts neurons that process visual information.

But the same benefit was not seen in more vigorous physical activity - which was no more effective than remaining sedentary.

The finding adds to growing evidence that remaining relatively fit helps cut the risk of poor vision.

Previous research has found people who have regular activity three or more times a week are almost three and a half times less likely to develop visual impairment.

In the latest study participants rode stationary bikes while wearing a wireless heart rate monitor and an EEG (electroencephalogram) which measures electrical activity in the brain.

At the same time the 18 volunteers performed a simple viewing task using high contrast stimuli composed of alternating black and white bars presented at one of nine spatial orientations.

These were performed while at rest and during bouts of both low and high intensity exercise.

Interestingly, just the light work out improved the visual cortex, the part of the brain that plays an important role in processing visual information.

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Psychologist Dr Tom Bullock, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, said: We found the peak response is enhanced during low intensity exercise relative to rest and high intensity exercise.

His team had fed the recorded brain data into a computational model that allowed them to estimate the responses of the neurons activated by the visual stimuli.

They were able to generate a 'tuning curve,' which estimates how well the brain cells are representing the different orientations.

Dr Bullock said: We also found the curve narrows in, which suggests a reduction in bandwidth.

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Together, the increased gain and reduced bandwidth suggest these neurons are becoming more sensitive to the stimuli presented during the low intensity exercise condition relative to the other conditions.

The researchers said it is universally accepted the benefits of exercise go well beyond fitness, from reducing the risk of disease to improving sleep and enhancing mood.

Physical activity gives cognitive function a boost as well as fortifying memory and safeguarding thinking skills.

But the study, published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, suggests it can also improve vision.

Recent research neuron firing rates in the regions of mouse and fly brains associated with visual processing increase during physical activity, so Dr Bullock and colleagues wanted to know if the same might be true for humans.

Professor Barry Giesbrecht said: We show the increased activation - what we call arousal - changes how information is represented, and it is much more selective.

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That is important to understand because how that information then gets used could potentially be different.

There's an interesting cross-species link that shows these effects of arousal might have similar consequences for how visual information is processed.

That implies the evolution of something that might provide a competitive advantage in some way.

But they don't know the mechanism by which this is occurring. He said: There are some hints that it may be driven by specific neurotransmitters that increase global cortical excitability and that can account for the change in the gain and the increase in the peak response of these tuning profiles.

From a broader perspective, this work underscores the importance of exercise.

Professor Giesbrecht added: In fact, the benefits of brief bouts of exercise might provide a better and more tractable way to influence information processing - versus, say, brain training games or meditation - and in a way that is not tied to a particular task.

Read more:
Exercise is GOOD for eyesight: Going for a brisk walk could improve your vision - Express.co.uk

This entry was posted on February 19, 2017 at 6:45 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |