单项选择题

Now, however, armed with brain-scanning tools and a sophisticated understanding of biochemistry, researchers are realizing that the mental effects of exercise are far more profound and complex than they once thought. The process starts in the muscles. Every time a bicep (二头肌) or quad contracts and releases, it sends out chemicals, including a protein called IGF-1 that travels through the bloodstream, across the blood-brain barrier and into the brain itself. There, IGF-1 takes on the role of foreman(工头, 领班)in the body’s neurotransmitter factory. It issues orders to ramp up production of several chemicals, including one called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. Ratey, author of the upcoming book "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain." calls this molecule" Miracle-Gro for the brain. "It fuels almost all the activities that lead to higher thought.
The process of exercise functioning on mind starts

A. in the muscles.
B. in the bloodstreams.
C. in the brain.
D. in the heart.