Not that this is any surprise to the forum readers, but I found it quite alarming that the brain shrinks in a such a short amount of time even though the study claims that the brain recovers within 6 months after the event. What I found also interesting is the explanation for the shrinkage - the dull experience of running monotonously and seeing the same scenery over and over again. So, another example that routine/repetition literally kills your brain.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn ... =hootsuite
"...A runner’s joints aren’t the only parts of their body affected. Earlier analyses of the same runners revealed that their brains seemed to temporarily shrink in size by 6 per cent over the course of the race. The loss may simply be the result of extreme fatigue and undernourishment, but Schütz thinks it could be caused by lack of stimulation. One of the four brain regions that seems to be particularly affected is known to be involved in visual processing. That area may have been massively under-stimulated by 64 days of viewing little other than roads, he says. Others have suggested that athletes’ brains may reorganise themselves to divert energy to regions involved in motivation. “It is hard to explain what’s going on,” says Schütz. “But we do see total recovery after six months.”
Regionally accentuated reversible brain grey matter reduction in ultra marathon runners detected by voxel-based morphometry - PubMed
Substantial and reversible brain gray matter reduction but no acute brain lesions in ultramarathon runners: experience from the TransEurope-FootRace Project - PubMed
"...Physiological brain volume reduction during aging is less than 0.2% per year. Therefore a volume reduction of about 6% during the 2 months of extreme running appears to be substantial. The reconstitution in global volume measures after 8 months shows the process to be reversible. As possible mechanisms we discuss loss of protein, hypercortisolism and hyponatremia to account for both substantiality and reversibility of gray matter volume reductions. Reversible brain volume reduction during an ultramarathon suggests that extreme running might serve as a model to investigate possible mechanisms of transient brain volume changes. However, despite massive metabolic load, we found no new lesions in trained athletes participating in a multistage ultramarathon."
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn ... =hootsuite
"...A runner’s joints aren’t the only parts of their body affected. Earlier analyses of the same runners revealed that their brains seemed to temporarily shrink in size by 6 per cent over the course of the race. The loss may simply be the result of extreme fatigue and undernourishment, but Schütz thinks it could be caused by lack of stimulation. One of the four brain regions that seems to be particularly affected is known to be involved in visual processing. That area may have been massively under-stimulated by 64 days of viewing little other than roads, he says. Others have suggested that athletes’ brains may reorganise themselves to divert energy to regions involved in motivation. “It is hard to explain what’s going on,” says Schütz. “But we do see total recovery after six months.”
Regionally accentuated reversible brain grey matter reduction in ultra marathon runners detected by voxel-based morphometry - PubMed
Substantial and reversible brain gray matter reduction but no acute brain lesions in ultramarathon runners: experience from the TransEurope-FootRace Project - PubMed
"...Physiological brain volume reduction during aging is less than 0.2% per year. Therefore a volume reduction of about 6% during the 2 months of extreme running appears to be substantial. The reconstitution in global volume measures after 8 months shows the process to be reversible. As possible mechanisms we discuss loss of protein, hypercortisolism and hyponatremia to account for both substantiality and reversibility of gray matter volume reductions. Reversible brain volume reduction during an ultramarathon suggests that extreme running might serve as a model to investigate possible mechanisms of transient brain volume changes. However, despite massive metabolic load, we found no new lesions in trained athletes participating in a multistage ultramarathon."
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