Cognitive control is the ability to stay on task to achieve a desired outcome or some sort of a goal, right? Whether that's a short term or a goal term. In layman's terms, it's a bit of a mishmash of self control, self regulation discipline, those sorts of things. And as you say, there's there's important implications for achieving goals around weight. People who are obese have got lower levels of cognitive or self control. But exercise seems to enhance it and we can come back to that a little bit.
Ben Rattray is an Associate Professor at the University of Canberra, where he teaches Exercise Physiology related units at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and works with the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, where he heads up the Active Brain Research (Twitter) theme.
Ben earned his doctoral degree at the University of Sydney in 2009, focussing on mitochondrial and calcium interactions in skeletal muscle.
Since starting at UC in 2009, Ben has shifted his focus towards understanding interactions between human movement and the brain, seeking to optimise health and performance. Ben’s research seeks to understand how exercise can impact cognition and how the brain contributes to fatigue in both acute and chronic settings.
His work has been applied in a range of contexts including military, corporate, health and high-performance sport settings. In 2016, Ben was awarded UC’s Early Career Research prize and has a growing reputation as a leader in the area with collaborations worldwide.
But, to be honest, he would rather be orienteering, running, mountain biking, adventure racing, playing basketball, kayaking or skiing (all badly), and be spending time with his family.
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