Melillo’s book, Neurobehavioral Disorders of Childhood, An Evolutionary Perspective, provides the link between exercise, activity and behavior.
Neurobehavioral Disorders of Childhood: An Evolutionary Perspective
This is a very erudite book, but in painstaking detail, the authors go through the theory of human brain evolution. Early man learns to walk on two feet, and concurrent with that, the brain grows massively larger to provide the neural circuitry to control and balance the new movement. Because of this brain expansion, the brain become much smarter. Man’s big brain becomes a powerhouse of learning. What follows is learning to use tools, associating experiences with creative ideas, and others.
As cognition improves, society improves, man created his own environment, and man becomes a victim of a sedentary lifestyle. Sitting around all day brings forth less neurological stimulation through the balance system (spine.) The loss of neurological stimulation brings modern day neurobehavioral syndromes such as ADD/ADHD.