Study: Exercising allows the blood to carry more oxygen to reach the brain

"We predicted that brain oxygenation would depend on neural activity and blood flow," said Qing Guang Zhang, a postdoctoral fellow in engineering science and mechanics. "We expected the oxygenation would drop in the brain's frontal cortex if blood flow decreased. That was what we thought would happen, but then we realized it was the respiration that was keeping the oxygenation up."

The only way that could happen would be if exercise was causing the blood to carry more oxygen, he explained, which would mean that the blood was not normally completely saturated with oxygen. They used a variety of methods to monitor respiration, blood flow and oxygenation. They also tested oxygenation levels while suppressing neural activity and blood vessel dilation.

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