Aerobic exercise increases the volume of a part of the brain that is typically smaller than normal in people with schizophrenia, according to a Newswise report. This is really good news, as one of the problems with schizophrenia is that unlike many other disorders schizophrenics generally have lasting and persistent disability.

The area of the brain in the study, the hippocampus, grew about 12 percent in people with schizophrenia who did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per week. Aside from the positive effect this might have on people with schizophrenia, it suggests that people’s brains can grow new neural connections even in adulthood - a process called plasticity.