Exercise does much more than keep our bodies moving. When we exercise, we come to understand the world. According to one theory, mobility was the driving force behind the evolutionary development of the brain. Neuroscientist Prof. Stefan Schneider at the German Sport University Cologne is researching exactly what physical activity does to our brain. In his lab, Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim conducts an experiment that demonstrates, almost in real time, how jogging alters brain waves, promotes relaxation, and simultaneously increases alertness. The film explains how the so-called “runner’s high” originates in the brain, why exercise prevents dementia and has a healing effect on depression. Movement begins as an intention – an electrical signal – in our brain. Neuroscientists in Lausanne are using this “remote effect” on our limbs to test a groundbreaking therapy for paraplegia.
