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posted by takyon on Monday April 16 2018, @09:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the seeing-a-shrink dept.

Researchers link sedentary behavior to thinning in brain region critical for memory

Sitting too much is linked to changes in a section of the brain that is critical for memory, according to a preliminary study by UCLA researchers of middle-aged and older adults.

Studies show that, like smoking, too much sitting increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Researchers at UCLA wanted to see how sedentary behavior influences brain health, especially regions of the brain that are critical to memory formation.

UCLA researchers recruited 35 people ages 45 to 75 — 25 women and 10 men — and asked about their physical activity levels and the average number of hours per day they spent sitting over the previous week. Each person had a high-resolution MRI scan, which provides a detailed look at the medial temporal lobe, a brain region involved in the formation of new memories.

The researchers found that sedentary behavior is a significant predictor of thinning of the medial temporal lobe and that physical activity, even at high levels, is insufficient to offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods. This study does not prove that too much sitting causes thinner brain structures, but instead that more hours spent sitting are associated with thinner regions, researchers said.

Also at Bustle.

Sedentary behavior associated with reduced medial temporal lobe thickness in middle-aged and older adults (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195549) (DX)


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @11:12PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @11:12PM (#667841)

    Reminds me of this:

    Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of a 44-year-old man's brain show a huge fluid-filled chamber called a ventricle taking up most of the room in his skull, leaving little more than a thin sheet of actual brain tissue, in this handout image released by French researchers July 19, 2007. The man with the unusually tiny brain has managed to live an entirely normal life as a married civil servant with two children despite his condition, according to the researchers.

    https://uk.reuters.com/article/oukoe-uk-brain-tiny/tiny-brain-no-obstacle-to-french-civil-servant-idUKN1930510020070720 [reuters.com]

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  • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Monday April 16 2018, @11:22PM (1 child)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Monday April 16 2018, @11:22PM (#667846) Homepage Journal

    His I.Q. isn't great. But I would love to hire that man. Because so many servants are AMAZINGLY RUDE!

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:03AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:03AM (#667859)

      If you're looking for AMAZINGLY RUDE, then a French public servant is probably what you want.