Made to Move
Any physical motion of the body.
Movement
The brain and spinal cord together make up this major division of the body's communication network.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The brain's ability to change and reorganize in response to experience.
Neuroplasticity
This organ is the main focus of Wendy Suzuki's TED Talk on the benefits of physical activity.
The brain
The average American adult today gets roughly this many steps per day.
5,000
Planned physical activity performed to improve or maintain health and fitness.
Exercise
All nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord belong to this major division.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
These pathways become reinforced through repeated practice, allowing communication involved in a skill to become more efficient.
Neural pathways
This brain structure is especially important for forming and retaining long-term memories.
Hippocampus
This division of the autonomic nervous system is nicknamed “rest and digest.”
Parasympathetic nervous system
Repeated, purposeful physical activity performed over time to create a specific adaptation or develop a skill.
Training
This division is involved in sensory information and voluntary actions, such as deciding to stand up or kick a soccer ball.
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
This protein supports neuron health, neural connections, learning, memory, and the brain's ability to change.
BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
This area at the front of the brain is important for functions such as attention, focus, and decision-making.
Prefrontal cortex
Dopamine, norepinephrine, and endorphins were the three examples from class of this type of chemical messenger whose systems can be influenced by physical activity.
Neurotransmitters
This major historical change introduced machines that increasingly performed physical labor and helped reduce the amount of activity required in everyday life.
The Industrial Revolution
This division controls many functions you don't consciously think about, including heart rate and digestion.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
Motivation, reward, movement, and attention are all functions associated with this chemical messenger discussed in class.
Dopamine
Suzuki explains that even one workout can have positive short-term effects on these two areas of functioning.
Mood and attention/focus
Motivation and reward are associated with the first; alertness and the stress response are associated with the second. Name both chemical messengers.
Dopamine AND norepinephrine
Walking to class, standing while talking with friends, and carrying groceries all fit into this category, while completing a planned workout does not necessarily belong only to this category.
Movement
You kick a soccer ball and then information from your body travels back toward your brain, allowing adjustments to balance, force, and position. This type of information is traveling from the body toward the CNS.
Sensory information / sensory input
A new dance routine feels awkward on Monday but much more coordinated after weeks of practice because the communication between the brain, nerves, and muscles has become more efficient.
Neural adaptation
Unlike the temporary effects of a single workout, doing this consistently over time is associated with longer-lasting changes and protection for the brain.
Regular exercise / regular physical activity
Put these four parts of the pathway in the correct order when information from your body travels back toward your brain: brain, nerves, sensory receptors, spinal cord.
Sensory receptors → nerves → spinal cord → brain