Aerobic exercise creates a muscle protein that boosts mouse memory

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” goes the proverb. Now, it seems no working out can also make Jack a dull boy — especially if Jack is a mouse.

A team of researchers from Seoul National University and the Korea Brain Research Institute, both in South Korea, has found that aerobic exercise can prompt mice to produce more of a protein in the skeletal muscle. This protein then travels to the brain via the blood, where it strengthens the brain’s ability to consolidate short-term memories into long-term ones.