A MOTHER鈥橲 exercise could give her child a head start. Babies born to women who exercised during pregnancy have more mature brains, suggesting that staying active may be good for all concerned.
Earlier work hinted that such children had better communication skills when they were 5 and scored higher on intelligence tests. However, these studies relied on women remembering how much exercise they had done while pregnant.
To investigate, 脡lise Labont茅-LeMoyne at the University of Montreal in Canada and her colleagues randomly assigned 29 pregnant women to one of two groups. Starting when they were around 13 weeks pregnant, one group did at least 20 minutes of moderate exercise such as brisk walking, swimming or cycling three times a week; the other group stopped exercising completely.
Advertisement
When the babies were 8 to 10 days old, researchers played them repetitive tones and novel sounds while recording electrical activity in their brains.
鈥淲e were looking at the brain鈥檚 ability to discriminate between sounds 鈥� because it鈥檚 the basis of language,鈥� says Labont茅-LeMoyne, who presented the results at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego this week. Mature brains use less energy to tell sounds apart, she says. 鈥淭he task was easier for babies whose mothers exercised.鈥�
It may be that exercise boosts levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a chemical released during exercise that is associated with better brain function in adults.
鈥淭his is consistent with research showing that the experiences a baby has in the womb can change the development of their brain,鈥� says Vivette Glover at Imperial College London. 鈥淚t will be interesting to see whether exercise during pregnancy has long-lasting effects on the child.鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淏ouncing babies get a boost for their brains鈥�
