Summary
Brain
plasticity, defined as the capability of cerebral neurons to change in
response to experience, is fundamental for behavioral adaptability,
learning, memory, functional development, and neural repair. The visual
cortex is a widely used model for studying neuroplasticity and the
underlying mechanisms. Plasticity is maximal in early development,
within the so-called critical period, while its levels abruptly decline
in adulthood [1] . Recent studies, however, have revealed a significant
residual plastic potential of the adult visual cortex by showing that,
in adult humans, short-term monocular deprivation alters ocular
dominance by homeostatically boosting responses to the deprived eye
[2–4] . In animal models, a reopening of critical period plasticity in
the adult primary visual cortex has been obtained by a variety of
environmental manipulations, such as dark exposure, or environmental
enrichment, together with its critical component of enhanced physical
exercise [5–8] . Among these non-invasive procedures, physical exercise
emerges as particularly interesting for its potential of application to
clinics, though there has been a lack of experimental evidence
available that physical exercise actually promotes visual plasticity in
humans. Here we report that short-term homeostatic plasticity of the
adult human visual cortex induced by transient monocular deprivation is
potently boosted by moderate levels of voluntary physical activity.
These findings could have a bearing in orienting future research in the
field of physical activity application to clinical research.
(Whoop-de-doo)
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