What Form 8655 Switching 2024

What if I told you that there is something you can do right now to benefit your brain, mood, and focus? And what if I told you that this same thing can also have long-term protective effects against conditions like depression, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia? Would you do it? Well, I'm talking about the powerful effects of physical activity. Simply moving your body can have immediate, long-lasting, and protective benefits for your brain that can last for the rest of your life. Today, I want to share a story about how I used my deep understanding of neuroscience as a professor to conduct an experiment on myself. I wanted to uncover the science behind why exercise is the most transformative thing you can do for your brain. As a neuroscientist, I know that our brains are the most complex structures known to humankind. But it's one thing to talk about the brain, and it's another to see it. Let's take a look at a real preserved human brain to illustrate two key areas we'll discuss today. The first is the prefrontal cortex, located right behind your forehead. It is critical for decision-making, focus, attention, and personality. The second key area is in the temporal lobe, where the hippocampus is located. The hippocampus plays a crucial role in forming and retaining new long-term memories. I have always been fascinated by the hippocampus. How is it possible that a single moment, such as a first kiss or the birth of a child, can form a memory that lasts a lifetime? I wanted to understand this process, so I started recording the activity of individual brain cells in the hippocampus while subjects were forming new memories. I aimed to decode how these bursts of electrical activity allowed us to form memories. However, a few years ago,...