Your Brain on Exercise

Acclaimed neuroscientist Gary Wenk reveals the fascinating impacts of exercise on the brain

Decades of research demonstrate that regular modest levels of exercise improve heart and lung function and may relieve joint pain. Regular daily exercise will help your body to regulate blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation, and many of these benefits are a consequence of reducing the amount of body fat you carry around. Your body clearly benefits in many ways from regular exercise. Does your brain benefit as well? Does regular exercise positively affect brain function? Does our thinking become faster because we exercise? Does running a marathon make us smarter? Dr. Gary Wenk's goal is to provide a realistic perspective on what benefits your brain should expect to achieve from exercise. Your Brain on Exercise skillfully blends scholarship with illuminating insights and clarity. Without requiring any specialized knowledge about the brain, Your Brain on Exercise entertainingly illustrates the intersection between brain health, the consequences of exercise, and our need to eat in an entirely new light. An internationally renowned neuroscientist and medical researcher, Dr. Wenk has been educating college and medical students about the brain and lecturing around the world for more than forty years.

Dr. Gary Wenk is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Director of Neuroscience Programs at the Ohio State University. He is an internationally recognized research investigator of age-related brain disorders, an award-winning educator, and author of more than 300 research articles and chapters. He has served on the faculty of The Johns Hopkins University and was the Director of the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and Biological Basis of Behavior Program at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. Dr. Wenk was elected a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his distinguished contributions in the field of neuropharmacology, neurodegenerative diseases, and neuroinflammatory processes. He has been interviewed about his work by Dr. Oz, NPR, WBZ, WJR, CBS, ABC, and CNN, and he currently serves on the State of Ohio Governor's Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee.