Exercise Intervention May Prevent Depression

Abstract

Physical activity is an effective component of depression management. However, the mechanisms by which exercise affects behavioral disorders remain unclear. The present study was conducted to investigate mechanisms by which voluntary exercise ameliorates depression. Plasma cortisol levels and hippocampal monoamine neurotransmitters were measured. Chronic mild stress (CMS) was used to induce depression in a rat model. The rats were allowed to swim for 10 weeks as part of their exercise treatment. Depressive behavior was analyzed using an open-field test and a sucrose consumption test before and after exercise. Serum cortisol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The concentrations of monoamine neurotransmitters in the hippocampus were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The CMS rats showed behavioral improvement after exercise. Compared with the control, serum cortisol levels were significantly increased by CMS. The serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels in the hippocampi were significantly increased by exercise. These findings indicate that exercise reverses and prevents the decrease in serotonin and noradrenaline, and restores dopamine in the CMS model.

Key words

exercise - chronic mild stress - monoamine neurotransmitters

• References

• 1 Annesi JJ. Changes in depressed mood associated with 10 weeks of moderate cardiovascular exercise in formerly sedentary adults. Psychol Rep 2005; 96: 855-862
• 2 Annesi JJ. Correlations of depression and total mood disturbance with physical activity and self-concept in preadolescents enrolled in an after-school exercise program. Psychol Rep 2005; 96: 891-898
• 3 Basso AM, Gallagher KB, Bratcher NA, Brioni JD, Moreland RB, Hsieh GC, Drescher K, Fox GB, Decker MW, Rueter LE. Antidepressant-like effect of d(2/3) receptor-, but not d(4) receptor-activation in the rat forced swim test. Neuropsychopharmacology 2005; 30: 1257-1268
• 4 Bielajew C, Konkle AT, Merali Z. The effects of chronic mild stress on male Sprague-Dawley and Long Evans rats: I. Biochemical and physiological analyses. Behav Brain Res 2002; 136: 583-592
• 5 Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Doraiswamy PM, Watkins L, Hoffman BM, Barbour KA, Herman S, Craighead WE, Brosse AL, Waugh R, Hinderliter A, Sherwood A. Exercise and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Psychosom Med 2007; 69: 587-596
• 6 Brenes GA, Williamson JD, Messier SP, Rejeski WJ, Pahor M, Ip E, Penninx BW. Treatment of minor depression in older adults: a pilot study comparing sertraline and exercise. Aging Ment Health 2007; 11: 61-68
• 7 Craft LL, Perna FA, Freund KM, Culpepper L. Psychosocial correlates of exercise in women with self-reported depressive symptoms. J Phys Act Health 2008; 5: 469-480
• 8 Dishman RK, Renner KJ, White-Welkley JE, Burke KA, Bunnell BN. Treadmill exercise training augments brain norepinephrine response to familiar and novel stress. Brain Res Bull 2000; 52: 337-342
• 9 Dunn AL, Reigle TG, Youngstedt SD, Armstrong RB, Dishman RK. Brain norepinephrine and metabolites after treadmill training and wheel running in rats. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1996; 28: 204-209
• 10 Ernst C, Olson AK, Pinel JP, Lam RW, Christie BR. Antidepressant effects of exercise: evidence for an adult-neurogenesis hypothesis. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2006; 31: 84-92
• 11 Fossati P, Radtchenko A, Boyer P. Neuroplasticity: from mri to depressive symptoms. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2004; 14: S503-S510
• 12 Garcia C, Chen MJ, Garza AA, Cotman CW, Russo-Neustadt A. The influence of specific noradrenergic and serotonergic lesions on the expression of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcripts following voluntary physical activity. Neuroscience 2003; 119: 721-732
• 13 Harriss DJ, Atkinson G. Update – ethical standards in sport and exercise science research Int J Sports Med 2011; 32: 819-821
• 14 Hedlund PB, Sutcliffe JG. Functional, molecular and pharmacological advances in 5-ht7 receptor research. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2004; 25: 481-486
• 15 Hunsberger JG, Newton SS, Bennett AH, Duman CH, Russell DS, Salton SR, Duman RS. Antidepressant actions of the exercise-regulated gene VGF. Nat Med 2007; 13: 1476-1482
• 16 Johnson CC, Murray DM, Elder JP, Jobe JB, Dunn AL, Kubik M, Voorhees C, Schachter K. Depressive symptoms and physical activity in adolescent girls. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2008; 40: 818-826
• 17 Katz RJ, Roth KA, Carroll BJ. Acute and chronic stress effects on open field activity in the rat: implications for a model of depression. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 1981; 5: 247-251
• 18 Kennett GA, Dickinson SL, Curzon G. Enhancement of some 5-ht-dependent behavioural responses following repeated immobilization in rats. Brain Res 1985; 330: 253-263
• 19 Kiive E, Maaroos J, Shlik J, Tõru I, Harro J. Growth hormone, cortisol and prolactin responses to physical exercise: higher prolactin response in depressed patients. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2004; 28: 1007-1013
• 20 Meeusen R. Exercise and the brain: insight in new therapeutic modalities. Ann Transplant 2005; 10: 49-51
• 21 Meeusen R, Thorre K, Chaouloff F, Sarre S, De Meirleir K, Ebinger G, Michotte Y. Effects of tryptophan and/or acute running on extracellular 5-ht and 5-hiaa levels in the hippocampus of food-deprived rats. Brain Res 1996; 740: 245-252
• 22 Rajkowska G. Postmortem studies in mood disorders indicate altered numbers of neurons and glial cells. Biol Psychiatry 2000; 48: 766-777
• 23 Sapolsky RM. Glucocorticoids and hippocampal atrophy in neuropsychiatric disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2000; 57: 925-935
• 24 Sarbadhikari SN, Saha AK. Moderate exercise and chronic stress produce counteractive effects on different areas of the brain by acting through various neurotransmitter receptor subtypes: a hypothesis. Theor Biol Med Model 2006; 3: 33-33
• 25 Tang SW, Chu E, Hui T, Helmeste D, Law C. Influence of exercise on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentrations in healthy human subjects. Neuroscience Letters 2008; 431: 62-65
• 26 Trejo JL, Llorens-Martin MV, Torres-Aleman I. The effects of exercise on spatial learning and anxiety-like behavior are mediated by an igf-i-dependent mechanism related to hippocampal neurogenesis. Mol Cell Neurosci 2008; 37: 402-411
• 27 Trivedi MH, Greer TL, Grannemann BD, Chambliss HO, Jordan AN. Exercise as an augmentation strategy for treatment of major depression. J Psychiatr Pract 2006; 12: 205-213
• 28 Trivedi MH, Greer TL, Grannemann BD, Church TS, Galper DI, Sunderajan P, Wisniewski SR, Chambliss HO, Jordan AN, Finley C, Carmody TI. Tread: treatment with exercise augmentation for depression: study rationale and design. Clin Trials 2006; 3: 291-305
• 29 Tsang HW, Chan EP, Cheung WM. Effects of mindful and non-mindful exercises on people with depression: a systematic review. Br J Clin Psychol 2008; 47: 303-322
• 30 Willner P. Chronic mild stress (cms) revisited: consistency and behavioural-neurobiological concordance in the effects of cms. Neuropsychobiology 2005; 52: 90-110
• 31 Willner P, Hale AS, Argyropoulos S. Dopaminergic mechanism of antidepressant action in depressed patients. J Affect Disord 2005; 86: 37-45
• 32 Willner P, Towell A, Sampson D, Sophokleous S, Muscat R. Reduction of sucrose preference by chronic unpredictable mild stress, and its restoration by a tricyclic antidepressant. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 1987; 93: 358-364
• 33 Zahorodna A, Tokarski K, Bijak M. Electrophysiologic tests for testing the effects of antidepressant drugs and corticosterone on reactivity of serotonin receptors in the hippocampus. Postepy Hig Med Dosw 2000; 54: 391-401