Life experiences at early ages, such as physical activity in childhood and adolescence, can result in long-lasting brain effects able to reduce future risk of brain disorders and to enhance lifelong brain functions. However, how early physical exercise promotes these effects remains unclear. A possible hypothesis is that physical exercise increases the expression of neurotrophic factors and stimulates neuronal growth, resulting in a neural reserve to be used at later ages. Basing our study on this hypothesis, we evaluated the absolute number and morphology of neuronal cells, as well as the expression of growth, proliferation and survival proteins (BDNF, Akt, mTOR, p70S6K, ERK and CREB) in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal formation throughout of a sedentary period of rats who were physically active during youth. To do this, male Wistar rats were submitted to an aerobic exercise protocol from the 21st to the 60th postnatal days (P21–P60), and evaluated at 0 (P60), 30 (P90) and 60 (P120) days after the last exercise session. Results showed that juvenile exercise increased, and maintained elevated, the number of cortical and hippocampal neuronal cells and dendritic arborization, when evaluated at the above post-exercise ages. Hippocampal BDNF levels and cortical mTOR expression were found to be increased at P60, but were restored to control levels at P90 and P120. Overall, these findings indicate that, despite the short-term effects on growth and survival proteins, early exercise induces long-lasting morphological changes in cortical and hippocampal neurons even during a sedentary period of rats.

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The main aim of actual research is to determine whether using the alternative board made of plastic bottles in comparison to conventional board affects the learning and practice of Stand up paddle (SUP) boarding. A sample of 16 healthy participants were recruited for convenience (aged M=23.5 years, CI95%: 21.62–25.54; body height M=170.13 cm, CI95%: 165.00–175.51; body mass M=69.63 kg; CI95%: 62.37–77.72) and randomly assigned to two groups: a) Conventional Material (CM; n=8) and; b) Alternative Material (AM; n=8). As criteria of learning, we considered variables as the number of falls, balance, body control, movement pattern of the paddling and the amount of time required to get stability on the board. No differences between groups in any criteria were found. We also observed that producing a board made of plastic bottles is 20 times cheaper than purchasing a conventional board made of resin. It can be concluded that the recycled board is as functional as a conventional board, but cheaper and less damaging to the environment.