title: Effects of endurance training on brain structures in chronic schizophrenia patients and healthy controls.
abstract: The objective of this longitudinal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging study was to examine the effects of endurance training on hippocampal and grey matter volumes in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. 20 chronic schizophrenia patients and 21 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent 3months of endurance training (30min, 3 times per week). 19 additionally recruited schizophrenia patients played table soccer ("foosball" in the USA) over the same period. MR imaging with 3D-volumetric T1-weighted sequences was performed on a 3T MR scanner at baseline, after 6weeks and after the 3-month intervention and 3 additional training-free months. In addition to voxel-based morphometry (VBM), we performed manual and automatic delineation of the hippocampus and its substructures. Endurance capacity and psychopathological symptoms were measured as secondary endpoints. No significant increases in the volumes of the hippocampus or hippocampal substructures were observed in schizophrenia patients or healthy controls. However, VBM analyses displayed an increased volume of the left superior, middle and inferior anterior temporal gyri compared to baseline in schizophrenia patients after the endurance training, whereas patients playing table soccer showed increased volumes in the motor and anterior cingulate cortices. After the additional training-free period, the differences were no longer present. While endurance capacity improved in exercising patients and healthy controls, psychopathological symptoms did not significantly change. The subtle changes in the left temporal cortex indicate an impact of exercise on brain volumes in schizophrenia. Subsequent studies in larger cohorts are warranted to address the question of response variability of endurance training.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: Berend.Malchow@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Berend
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Malchow
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany; Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keeser
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany; Department of Sports Medicine, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Katriona
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Alkomiet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Boris-Stephan
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Rauchmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schneider-Axmann
authors.affiliation: MR Research in Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dechent
authors.affiliation: Centre for Translational Research in Systems Neuroscience and Clinical Psychiatry, Georg August University, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ertl-Wagner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Honer
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hillmer-Vogel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany; Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Centre of Mental Health, County Hospitals Darmstadt-Dieburg, Groß-Umstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wobrock
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Andree
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niklas
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Falkai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000072466:Cognitive Remediation; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Brain morphology; Endurance training; Longitudinal; Magnetic resonance imaging; Schizophrenia