Research
Hormonal
High-intensity interval exercise increases cerebral angiogenesis and VEGFA levels via the lactate receptor HCAR1, a mechanism absent in skeletal muscle.
To maximize brain blood vessel growth, you likely need to exercise at high intensities that elevate blood lactate levels, as this triggers a specific receptor (HCAR1) that low-intensity exercise may not sufficiently activate.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
High-intensity interval exercise (5 days weekly for 7 weeks), as well as L-lactate subcutaneous injection that leads to an increase in blood lactate levels similar to exercise, increases brain VEGFA protein and capillary density in wild-type mice, but not in knockout mice lacking HCAR1. In contrast, skeletal muscle shows no vascular HCAR1 expression and no HCAR1-dependent change in vascularization induced by exercise or lactate.
Why this rating
High-quality controlled animal study with knockout models confirming causality, though not directly translatable to human clinical outcomes.
Source
Exercise induces cerebral VEGF and angiogenesis via the lactate receptor HCAR1
Cecilie Morland et al. · Nature Communications · 2017
DOI 10.1038/ncomms15557
mechanism_onlyCited 525×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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