---
title: "Psych News Alert: Brain Benefits of Exercise May Fade When Exercise Period Ends"
description: "Studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience suggest the \"brain benefits\" of exercise don't last lo..."
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/exercising_112542377-Jun-24-2025-05-39-58-2858-PM.jpg
---

 1/10/13 12:00 AM

# Brain Benefits of Exercise May Fade When Exercise Period Ends

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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Studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience suggest the "brain benefits" of exercise don't last long once the exercise ends. According to a story in yesterday's *[New York Times](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/to-keep-the-brain-benefits-of-exercise-keep-exercising/)*, researchers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, have shown that rats who exercise are much better at tests of memory than their sedentary counterparts, but those advantages fade quickly once they stop exercising. After three to six weeks of inactivity, the mental advantages had disappeared, perhaps indicating that exercise-induced benefits are at best transient.

Another group of researchers, this one from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, reported at the same meeting that rats who ran regularly for 10 weeks but were then inactive for three weeks had brains that were almost indistinguishable from those of rats that had never exercised. "This is analogous to what happens to muscle bulk or heart rate following exercise withdrawal," Michael Mazurek, M.D., a professor in the Division of Neurology at McMaster University who oversaw the study, told the *Times*.

Recent research has also shown that exercise can reduce the number of amyloid plaques in the brain, which might help ward off Alzheimer's disease. Read more about that study in *Psychiatric News* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1032204) .

(Image: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com)

[exercise](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/exercise), [brain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/brain)

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[antidepressants](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressants), [depression](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/depression), [exercise](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/exercise)

## [Encouraging Exercise Doesn't Improve Depression, Study Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/encouraging-exercise-doesn-improve.html)

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 6/8/12 12:00 AM

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[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/rat%20in%20a%20maze_28632838-4.jpg?height=200&name=rat%20in%20a%20maze_28632838-4.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/08/exercise-can-boost-memory-and-restore.html)

[Alzheimer's disease](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/alzheimers-disease), [exercise](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/exercise), [memory](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/memory), [amyloid plaques](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/amyloid-plaques), [hippocampus](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/hippocampus)

## [Exercise Can Boost Memory and Restore Nerve Synapses](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/08/exercise-can-boost-memory-and-restore.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 8/13/12 12:00 AM

Old rats are generally not so good at recognizing places, and this deficiency in turn appears to be...

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[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/exercising%20woman_91907681-4.jpg?height=200&name=exercising%20woman_91907681-4.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/over-exercise-may-signal-heightened.html)

[suicide](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/suicide), [exercise](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/exercise), [bulimia nervosa](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/bulimia-nervosa)

## [Over-Exercise May Signal Heightened Suicide Risk in Bulimic Individuals](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/over-exercise-may-signal-heightened.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 4/15/13 12:00 AM

Over-exercise in females with bulimia nervosa is linked to suicidality, April Smith, Ph.D., of...

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/over-exercise-may-signal-heightened.html)

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