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Many Animal Studies Have Found That An Enriched Environment Which Includes ...


Many animal studies have found that an enriched environment which includes an exercise component can induce important changes in the brain, including enhanced functioning and development in areas related to cognitive capacity, learning, memory and resilience (Jensen, 2006, p, 56). Improvements have included increasing brain mass and an increased number of neurons, with greater connections. This greater connectivity means that blood, which carries oxygen vital for the effective functioning of the brain, can move through the brain more easily, thereby enhancing performance and facilitating a greater degree of learning.
In one of the first studies of its kind, Will and his colleagues demonstrated a difference in the levels of brain chemicals in maze smart and maze dull rats, with the rats in the more complex environment showing increased levels of acetylcholine in the brain, a chemical which is closely linked with memory functioning (Will et al., 1977).
Many studies have shown that an enriched environment can lead to improvements in brain functioning. Jensen has identified a number of improvements common to the research carried out in this area:
Metabolic allostasis: this refers to changes in blood flow, the levels of chemicals and metabolic functioning. Changes in blood flow play an important role in learning because of the increased levels of oxygen flowing through the brain;
Enhances anatomical structures: larger neurons and more developed cell structures;
Responsiveness and learning efficiency: enhanced electrical signalling and cell efficiency and neural processing. A greater number of neurons enhances the brain's capacity for learning;
Increased connectivity: increased circuitry and branching from one neuron to another. This enables a greater degree of communication between the areas of the brain involved in learning, leading to enhanced learning;
Increased neurogenesis (the creation of new neurons) and growth factors: production of new brain cells as well as special proteins necessary for brain survival;
Recovery from trauma and systems disorders: protection from stress and greater capacity to heal when damaged.
(Jensen, 2006, p.57).
Neurogenesis:
Until fairly recently it was believed that once cells in the brain were destroyed or damaged there was no way of replacing or repairing them. Research has led scientists to discover that the brain is, to some degree, a self replicating organ, and that cells can indeed be created in the brain. This process is called neorogenesis and is one of the many ways in which the brain can change throughout life. It has also been discovered that this is a change which can be facilitated by an enriched environment which includes exercise and good nutrition.

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