SD | Penn State
Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between simple body movement and brain health: every time you tighten your abdominal muscles—even slightly—your brain may gently sway inside your skull. This subtle motion, triggered by pressure changes in connected blood vessels, appears to help circulate cerebrospinal fluid around the brain, potentially flushing out harmful waste. Using microCT scanning, which allows for high-resolution imaging of an organism’s internal structures, and other imaging techniques, researchers found that a network of veins serve as a mechanical connection between the abdominal cavity and the brain. Here, the veins in red run through the interior of a vertebrae and around the spine.