Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a central role in brain plasticity by mediating changes in cortical thickness and synaptic density in response to physical activity and environmental enrichment. Previous studies suggest that physical exercise can augment BDNF levels, both in serum and the brain, but no other study has examined how different types of activities compare with physical exercise in their ability to affect BDNF levels. By using a balanced cross over experimental design, we exposed nineteen healthy older adults to 35-minute sessions of physical exercise, cognitive training, and mindfulness practice, and compared the resulting changes in mature BDNF levels between the three activities. We show that a single bout of physical exercise has significantly larger impact on serum BDNF levels than either cognitive training or mindfulness practice in the same persons. This is the first study on immediate BDNF effects of physical activity in older healthy humans and also the first study to demonstrate an association between serum BDNF responsivity to acute physical exercise and working memory function. We conclude that the BDNF increase we found after physical exercise more probably has a peripheral than a central origin, but that the association between post-intervention BDNF levels and cognitive function could have implications for BDNF responsivity in serum as a potential marker of cognitive health.

Scheduled qigong, meditative movement, is a possible way to improve well-being at school.

Previous studies have indicated that an active lifestyle is associated with better brain health and a longer life, compared to a more sedentary lifestyle. These studies, both on human and animal subjects, have typically focused on a single activity, usually physical exercise, but other activities have received an increasing interest. One proposed mechanism is that physical exercise increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain. For the first time, the long-term effects on serum BDNF levels were compared in persons who engaged in either physical exercise training, cognitive training, or mindfulness practice during 5 weeks, and compared with an active control group. Two cohorts of healthy older individuals, one from the Boston area in the US and one from the Växjö area in Sweden, participated. A total of 146 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four groups. All interventions were structurally similar, using interactive, computer-based software that directed participants to carry out specified activities for 35 minutes/day, 5 days per week for 5 weeks. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and soon after the completion of the 5-week long intervention program, and serum BDNF levels were measured using a commercially available ELISA. Only the group that underwent cognitive training increased their serum BDNF levels after 5 weeks of training (F 1,74 = 4.22, p = 0.044, partial η 2 = 0.054), corresponding to an average 10% increase. These results strongly suggest that cognitive training can exert beneficial effects on brain health in an older adult population.

Effects of a mindfulness-based program, Compassion and Attention in the Schools (Compas), were studied in 358 pupils in grades 5, 7, and 8 in Sweden. An experimental group undertook Compas practices in class three times a week during an eight-week period. A control group undertook content area academic lessons . Pre-/post-intervention analyses showed a significant improvement in the experimental group, but not in the control group, in pupils’ capacity for effortful control, feelings of well-being at school and perceived peer relations. The positive effect of training increased with the number of times the participants took part in the training for all but one of the measures (general stress). Compas seems to be a useful tool for enhancing pupils’ effortful control, well-being at school and peer relations.

Compassion may be directed at a broad range of targets. The present study investigated interrelations among other-directed compassion, selfcompassion, and environmental compassion in early adolescence (age = 12-14; n = 256) and examined how the different manifestations of compassion related to age and sex during this age period. Dispositional compassion directed at different targets was assessed through self-reports and peer nominations. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis supported a model that portrayed dispositional compassion toward self, others, and the environment as three distinct but interrelated factors. Other-directed compassion and environmental compassion were higher in girls than in boys. There was a decrease in all forms of compassion with age. The drop in selfcompassion was linked to negative self-perceptions in 13-and 14-year-old girls. The roles of experience and cognitive factors in linking different forms of dispositional compassion are discussed.