Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Charleston, SC, USA; Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
J Psychiatr Res. 2024 Aug;176:108-118. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.06.002. Epub 2024 Jun 5.
Although complex in nature, the pathophysiology of depression involves reduced or impaired neuroplastic capabilities. Restoring or enhancing neuroplasticity may serve as a treatment target for developing therapies for depression. Aerobic exercise (AEx) has antidepressant benefits and may enhance neuroplasticity in depression although the latter has yet to be substantiated. Therefore, we sought to examine the acute effect of AEx on neuroplasticity in depression.
Sixteen individuals with (DEP; 13 female; age = 28.5 ± 7.3; Montgomery-Äsberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS] = 21.3 ± 5.2) and without depression (HC; 13 female; age 27.2 ± 7.5; MADRS = 0.8 ± 1.2) completed three experimental visits consisting of 15 min of low intensity AEx (LO) at 35% heart rate reserve (HRR), high intensity AEx (HI) at 70% HRR, or sitting (CON). Following AEx, excitatory paired associative stimulation (PAS) was employed to probe neuroplasticity. Motor evoked potentials (MEP) were assessed via transcranial magnetic stimulation before and after PAS to indicate acute changes in neuroplasticity.
PAS primed with HI AEx led to significant increases in MEP amplitude compared to LO and CON. HI AEx elicited enhanced PAS-induced neuroplasticity for up to 1-h post-PAS. There were no significant between-group differences.
HI AEx enhances PAS measured neuroplasticity in individuals with and without depression. HI AEx may have a potent influence on the brain and serve as an effective primer, or adjunct, to therapies that seek to harness neuroplasticity.
尽管抑郁症的病理生理学很复杂，但它涉及到神经可塑性的降低或受损。恢复或增强神经可塑性可能成为开发治疗抑郁症的疗法的治疗靶点。有氧运动（AEx）具有抗抑郁作用，并且可能增强抑郁症患者的神经可塑性，尽管后者尚未得到证实。因此，我们试图研究 AEx 对抑郁症患者神经可塑性的急性影响。
16 名抑郁症患者（DEP；13 名女性；年龄 28.5 ± 7.3；蒙哥马利-阿斯伯格抑郁评定量表 [MADRS] 21.3 ± 5.2）和无抑郁症患者（HC；13 名女性；年龄 27.2 ± 7.5；MADRS 0.8 ± 1.2）完成了三次实验访问，包括 15 分钟的低强度 AEx（LO），心率储备（HRR）的 35%，高强度 AEx（HI），HRR 的 70%，或静坐（CON）。在 AEx 之后，使用兴奋性成对关联刺激（PAS）来探测神经可塑性。通过经颅磁刺激在 PAS 前后评估运动诱发电位（MEP），以指示神经可塑性的急性变化。
与 LO 和 CON 相比，HI AEx 引发的 PAS 导致 MEP 振幅显著增加。HI AEx 引发的 PAS 诱导的神经可塑性增强可持续 1 小时。两组之间没有显著差异。
HI AEx 增强了抑郁症患者和无抑郁症患者的 PAS 测量的神经可塑性。HI AEx 可能对大脑有强烈影响，并可作为寻求利用神经可塑性的疗法的有效引物或辅助剂。
