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Volume 6, Issue 9(Suppl) J Obes Weight Loss Ther 2016
ISSN: 2165-7904 JOWT, an open access journal
Page 47
Notes:
Obesity 2016
December 08-10, 2016
conferenceseries.com
Obesity & Weight Management
December 08-10, 2016 Dallas, USA
10th International Conference and Exhibition on
Motor-cognitive interactions in the nervous system: Obesity and sedentary behavior dumbs down
cognitive function in childhood
Gerry Leisman1, 2 and Raed Mualem1, 2
1The National Institute for Brain and Rehabilitation Sciences, Israel
2O.R.T. – Braude College of Engineering, Israel
Objectives: To demonstrate that motor and cognitive processes are not separate, but likely share similar evolutionary history.
Methods: We review data that motor processes contribute to cognitive function.
Results: Motor and cognitive processes have dynamical bidirectional relationships. Rodent research has revealed that exercise
influences the striatum by increasing dopamine signaling and angiogenesis. In children, higher aerobic fitness levels are associated
with greater hippocampal volumes, superior performance on tasks of attentional and interference control, and elevated event-related
brain potential indices of executive function.
Conclusions: We endeavor to integrate the Neurosciences, Cognitive Psychology and Biomechanics in providing a fundamental
understanding of the relation between intention, decision-making, and movement in the context of functional connectivity,
awareness, attention, and action. Evidence, the SMA is involved in the organization of motor sequences based on plans, the PM is
involved in the preparation of a specific action, the prefrontal cortex is involved in the initiation and in the temporal organization
of action, and the cerebellum is involved in the temporal control of action sequences. All these regions show anticipatory activity
in relation to a forthcoming action. Motor cognition relies on a multicomponent system, with many distinct processes occurring
simultaneously in different brain regions that support different neural networks. The lack of movement represented in office work
and youngsters fettered to video games reduces the ability to formulate effective connectivities. Because children are becoming
increasingly overweight, unhealthy and unfit, understanding the neurocognitive benefits of an active lifestyle during childhood has
important public health and educational implications.
Biography
Gerry Leisman is the Director and Professor of the National Institute for Brain and Rehabilitation Sciences in Nazareth, Israel and Professor of Restorative Neurology at
Universidad de Ciencias Médicas Facultad Manuel Fajardo, Havana, Cuba. He has examined self-organizing systems in the nervous system applied to cognitive functions
in memory, kinesiology, optimization, consciousness, and autism. He has applied optimization strategies to movement, gait, and cognition. In the 1970’s, he was one of
the first to identify functional disconnectivities in the brain. His work in rehabilitation sciences, has applied the tools of Industrial Engineering to those with developmental
disabilities.
Gerry Leisman et al., J Obes Weight Loss Ther 2016, 6:9(Suppl)