title: Activation of the serotonergic system by pedaling exercise changes anterior cingulate cortex activity and improves negative emotion.
abstract: Pedaling exercise (PE) of moderate intensity has been shown to ease anxiety and discomfort; however, little is known of the changes that occur in brain activities and in the serotonergic (5-HT) system after PE. Therefore, this study was conducted for the following reasons: (1) to localize the changes in the brain activities induced by PE using a distributed source localization algorithm, (2) to examine the changes in frontal asymmetry, as used in the Davidson model, with electroencephalography (EEG) activity, and (3) to examine the effect of PE on the 5-HT system. A 32-channel EEG was used to record before and after PE. Profile of Mood States tests indicated that there was a significant decrease in tension-anxiety and a significant increase in vigor after PE. A standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography analysis showed a significant decrease in brain activities after PE in the alpha-2 band (10-12.5 Hz) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Moreover, a significant increase in frontal EEG asymmetry was observed after PE in the alpha-1 band (7.5-10 Hz). Urine 5-HT levels significantly increased after PE. Urine 5-HT levels positively correlated with the degree of frontal EEG asymmetry in the alpha-1 band and negatively correlated with brain activity in ACC. Our results suggested that PE activates the 5-HT system and consequently induces increases in frontal EEG asymmetry in the alpha-1 band and reductions of brain activity in the alpha-2 band in the ACC region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurorehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Science, Kio University, 4-2-2 Umami-naka koryo-cho, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara 635-0832, Japan; Department of Rehabilitation, Suisyoukai Murata Hospital, Japan. Electronic address: polaresfid@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Satoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohmatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurorehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Science, Kio University, 4-2-2 Umami-naka koryo-cho, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara 635-0832, Japan; Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Suisyoukai Murata Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuzo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terakawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Suisyoukai Murata Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: Takaho
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurorehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Science, Kio University, 4-2-2 Umami-naka koryo-cho, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara 635-0832, Japan.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morioka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin
keywords: Anterior cingulate cortex; Electroencephalography; Emotion; Frontal asymmetry; Serotonin; Urine