julia c. basso Archives » ForeverFitScience

Keep Moving – Aerobic Exercise Increases College GPAs

Julia C. Basso, PhD Reporting from the 2017 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting (Basso JC, Crosta C, Raskin M, Wang A, Kadakia D, Choi J, Milburn E, Trivedi R, Suzuki WA) Long-term aerobic exercise enhances mood state and improves a range of cognitive functions including attention, information processing speed and both short- and long-term memory. Though

Exercise May Improve Brain Health In Adolescent Binge Drinking

Julia C. Basso, PhD Reporting from the 2017 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting Exercise highlight 5: Voluntary exercise restores adolescent binge ethanol-induced loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in adulthood (RP Vetreno, FT Crews) The adolescent brain is in a constant state of change and therefore has a heightened capacity for neural plasticity. Unfortunately, binge

Sense & Movement – A Surprisingly Unique Phenomenon

Julia C. Basso, PhD Reporting from the 2017 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting The ability to adapt your movement to signals or cues in the environment is known as sensorimotor adaptation, the focus of one of the many minisymposiums at the conference. Dr. Rachael Seidler and her colleagues at the University of Florida study this

Learning, Memory, & Decision Making

Julia C. Basso, PhD Reporting from the 2017 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting Making good decisions requires memory. Take for example, the hangover (maybe that some of us are experiencing today after the reunion with some of our favorite science colleagues). We remember that the previous heavy night of drinking brought on this unpleasant state.

What Factors Determine Ultra-Marathon Success?

Julia C. Basso, PhD 100 miles is approximately the distance from the surface of the earth to the planet’s boundary, called suborbital space. This is also the distance run by ultra-marathon racers. To be considered an ultra-marathon, the race must be longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers (26.219 miles). Beyond that, ultra-marathons

Exercise & Celiac Disease

Julia C. Basso, PhD Eating gluten free seems to be in fashion at the moment. You can find gluten free foods at almost every super market these days. However, for some gluten free is not just a fad but a necessity. What is Celiac Disease? Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder, and when people with

Dancing Can Reverse Aging In The Brain

Julia C. Basso, PhD A healthy and functional brain requires healthy, intact cells that fire effectively. Action Potentials Neurons generate action potentials, which are the brain’s primary source of currency. Action potentials are electrical signals that travel down the neuron. When the action potential reaches the end of the neuron (the axon terminal), the electrical

A Natural Alternative To Pain Killers

Julia C. Basso, PhD Pain is a complicated clinical issue, mostly because pain is a complicated neuroscientific issue. When we get injured, the body sends signals to the brain to indicate that we are in pain. When we incur an injury, receptors on the skin called nociceptors send information (electrical signals) from the body, through

What Toxins Are Lurking In Your Brain?

Julia C. Basso, PhD As a scientist who studies the effects of exercise on the brain, I am always thinking about what exercise-induced factors (from muscles, bones, organs, brain tissue, etc.) cause the beneficial effects on brain function, like improvements in mood and cognition. Recently I started thinking about it another way. What if we

Lifestyle Recommendations To Prevent Cognitive Decline

Julia C. Basso, PhD Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases, and is characterized by problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. AD is progressive; symptoms worsen over time, with individuals eventually losing the ability to carry on tasks of daily living. AD results from changes in the

Does Physical Activity Help Children With Autism? – Ebook

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is typically diagnosed in toddlers. The disorder is characterized by various behaviors that impair communication and social interactions. These stereotyped or self-stimulating (SSB) behaviors refer to repetitive and / or restrictive patterns and may include repetitive speech or repetitive motor movements (spinning, rocking, flapping etc.). Because ASD is often diagnosed in young

Obesity & Dopamine Dysfunction

Julia C. Basso, PhD Obesity is a major problem worldwide. In the United States, more than 66% of adults are overweight, with 1 out of every 3 being considered obese (National Institutes of Health). Obesity is determined based on a person’s Body Mass Index or BMI. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms

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