Exercise can help prevent brain damage linked to high alcohol intake

Aerobic exercise can help prevent and even reverse some brain damage linked to high alcohol intake, according to new research carried out at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The finding, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, suggests that routine aerobic exercise such as running, bicycling, and walking may help reduce the damage to the brain's “white matter” among people who drink alcohol excessively.

White matter is made up of bundles of nerve cells that act as transmission lines that control communication between several different areas of the brain, according to one author, Hollis Karoly, a doctoral student in CU-Boulder's psychology and neuroscience department.