Could Running Change Your Brain?

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run 18 of them. He wondered how runners' bodies get the energy they need to make it to the finish line.

His new research in the journal Nature Metabolism may be the first step in answering the question – and suggests their brains might be (temporarily) depleting a fatty substance that coats nerve cells called myelin.

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0:28.2	things considered. Hey, Wana. Hi, excited to be here. I hear we're talking about one of my favorite
0:32.6	things running and how running a marathon can change your brain. Yep. Plus, we're talking about
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