Tag: hippocampus

Study in mice shows Zika virus also attacks adult brain cells

  CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. researchers have found that Zika can attack special populations of brain cells in adult mice in the part of the brain involved in learning and memory, raising new questions about how the virus may be impacting millions of adults who have been infected with the virus. The findings, published on Thursday in the journal “Cell Stem Cell,” are the first to look at whether Zika can attack the same kinds […]

Well-timed exercise might improve learning

  (Reuters Health) – Aerobic exercise four hours after a memorization task, but not exercise right afterwards, was linked to improved recall in a series of Dutch experiments. Newly-learned information turns into long-term knowledge through a process of stabilization and integration of memories, the study team writes in Current Biology. This requires certain brain chemicals that are also released during physical exercise, including dopamine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and a growth factor called BDNF, they explain. “The […]