Brain Afterburn: Exercise Rewires a Key Hypothalamic Circuit to Boost Endurance
A Neuron study in mice shows that endurance gains from repeated workouts rely on brain changes after exercise, specifically SF1 neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus that stay active for at least an hour post-exercise; training enhances SF1 activity and the number of activated neurons, and blocking these neurons or silencing them after exercise abolishes endurance gains, indicating post-exercise brain activity is crucial for long-term adaptation and could inform strategies to help aging or mobility-impaired individuals stay active.