Let's Get Technical for a Minute...seriously.

Basal ganglia volume is associated with aerobic fitness in preadolescent children.

Chaddock L, Erickson KI, Prakash RS, VanPatter M, Voss MW,

Pontifex MB, Raine LB, Hillman CH, Kramer AF.

Department of Psychology, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20693803

ABSTRACT, August 2010:  The present investigation is the first to explore the association between childhood aerobic fitness and basal ganglia structure and function. Rodent research has revealed that exercise influences the striatum by increasing dopamine signaling and angiogenesis.

In children, higher aerobic fitness levels are associated with greater hippocampal volumes, superior performance on tasks of attentional and interference control, and elevated event-related brain potential indices of executive function.

The present study used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate if higher-fit and lower-fit 9- and 10-year-old children exhibited differential volumes of other subcortical brain regions, specifically the basal ganglia involved in attentional control. The relationship between aerobic fitness, dorsal and ventral striatum volumes and performance on an attention and inhibition Eriksen flanker task was also examined.

The results indicated that...

• Higher-fit children showed superior flanker task performance compared to lower-fit children.
• Higher-fit children also showed greater volumes of the dorsal striatum, and dorsal striatum volume was negatively associated with behavioral interference.

The results support the claim that the dorsal striatum is involved in cognitive control and response resolution and that these cognitive processes vary as a function of aerobic fitness. No relationship was found between aerobic fitness, the volume of the ventral striatum and flanker performance.

The findings suggest that increased childhood aerobic fitness is associated with greater dorsal striatal volumes and that this is related to enhanced cognitive control.

Because children are becoming increasingly overweight, unhealthy and unfit, understanding the neurocognitive benefits of an active lifestyle during childhood has important public health and educational implications.

What does this all MEAN??

It means, let's get MOVIN'!
It means fit kids can pay attention more easily that their unfit peers.

It means what we are doing is helping our kids academically, physically and socially! 

It means what we are doing is working!

 

So...go! Run, move, walk, increase the volume of your basal ganglia!! At school, at home, before school, during school, after school...everywhere, all the time!  :)

GO!!