Biomedical Research Center SAS
Topic
Effects of ageing and exercise on skeletal muscle and brain plasticity in humans: integrative physiology, in vitro and in vivo studies
PhD. program
animal physiology
Name of the supervisor
prof. MUDr. Barbara Ukropcová, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava
Annotation
Regular exercise is effective in prevention & treatment of chronic diseases and supports healthy ageing. We will study mechanisms of the systemic adaptive response to regular exercise and specifically its integration at a level of skeletal muscles (organ of movement) and brain (cognition/memory). We hypothesize that bioactive molecules released from contracting muscles are not only involved in improvements of muscle integrity and functional capacity but could also modulate brain functional and structural characteristics. Muscle biopsies and muscle cell cultures derived from individuals with different phenotypes will be used to test our hypotheses. All the data will be interpreted in relationship with the results of the long-term exercise intervention study in seniors where we have also collected volumetric brain parameters.