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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 May 12.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Neurosci. 2009 Apr 6;32(5):283–290. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2008.12.007

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Exercise and diet have complementary and synergistic effects on brain function. The most profound effect of exercise is on hippocampal neurogenesis, whereas the strongest influence of a flavanol-rich diet might be on vascularization of the brain. (A,B) Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling of new cells in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of C57Bl/6 mice. In comparison with sedentary controls (A), running wheel exercise (B) enhances the number of new cells. (C,D) Dendritic spines labeled with DiI in mature hippocampal granule cells. Relative to controls (C), running and/or a flavanol-containing diet (D) increase neuronal spine density. (E,F) Tomato lectin staining visualized hippocampal blood vessels; the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus is outlined in white in the panels. A flavanol-rich diet enhanced dentate gyrus vascularization, especially when combined with running (F), as compared with control mice (E). Abbreviations: CON, control group; EXP, experimental group. Panels A and B were reproduced from Ref. [103]. Panels C, D, E and F: Copyright 2007 by the Society for Neuroscience.

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