A series of experiments conducted at the Princeton University raised the possibility that loneliness may reduce the benefit of exercise. How this idea was tested involved dividing young male rats into groups housed either in threes or singly and, after a week, giving half of them access to running wheels. All of the rats in the experiment ran. However, it was observed that the rats that were housed with other rats experienced rapid and robust neurogenesis. Compared to the rats with company,...
>>>A series of experiments conducted at the Princeton University raised the possibility that loneliness may reduce the benefit of exercise. How this idea was tested involved dividing young male rats into groups housed either in threes or singly and, after a week, giving half of them access to running wheels. All of the rats in the experiment ran. However, it was observed that the rats that were housed with other rats experienced rapid and robust neurogenesis. Compared to the rats with company, those that were isolated took a few weeks to manifest the sprouting of new neurons and neural connections. Based on this experiment, it looks like that in the case of rats, social isolation has slowed down the acquisition of the benefits of exercise.
Photo: Luke White
