Exercise not only strengthens our muscles and our hearts: it also modifies the expression of our genes , according to a study published in Nature Medicine .
Its author, Ronald Duman, of Yale University, compared the brain activity of a group of sedentary mice with that of rodents that spent several hours a day running on a wheel. A series of genetic analyzes revealed that the action of the gene encoding a molecule called VGF was especially increased in animals that exercised regularly. And, more importantly, the researcher has shown that VGF acts as a powerful antidepressant by acting on neurons in the hippocampus , a structure of the limbic system linked to mood and sensitive to stress hormones and depression.
"We have found the mechanism by which exercise produces antidepressant effects," says Duman, who considers it to be an interesting way to develop new psychoactive drugs .
