Neuroplasticity induced by exercise

Sammanfattning: As opposed to earlier beliefs, the brain is altering itself throughout an individual’s life. The process of functional or structural alterations is referred to as plasticity, and can be induced by several factors such as experience or physical exercise. In this thesis, the research area of experience-dependent plasticity, with focus on exercise-induced plasticity is examined critically. Evidence from a vast array of studies are reviewed and compared in order to find whether physical exercise can induce neural plasticity in the human brain, how it may be beneficial, and what some of the plausible mediators of exercise-induced plasticity are. The findings demonstrated in this thesis suggest that although there are knowledge gaps and limitations in the literature, physical exercise can indeed result in exhibited plasticity as well as being beneficial for the human brain in several ways.