Does intensity or youth affect the neurobiological effect of exercise on major depressive disorder?
The purpose of this commentary is to discuss the different neurobiological effects of exercise on major depressive disorder (MDD) in children and adolescents and to provide additional explanations to this well written systematic review. This commentary highlights the effects of exercise on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which plays a crucial role in MDD. We address the questions of whether age and different exercise intensities may provide additional information on the neurobiological effects of acute or chronic exercise on MDD. Previous findings clearly suggest that the etiology of MDD is complex and multifaceted, involving numerous neurobiological systems, which are additionally influenced by these two factors.
Faculty of Human Sciences, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Physical Activity, Physical Education, Health and Sport Research Centre (PAPESH), Sports Science Department, School of Science and Engineering, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland; Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania. Electronic address: henningb@ru.is.
Henning
H
Budde
Bioscience Department, School of Physical Education of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (EEFD/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Institute of Applied Neuroscience (INA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bruna
B
Velasques
Bioscience Department, School of Physical Education of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (EEFD/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Institute of Applied Neuroscience (INA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Pedro
P
Ribeiro
Panic and Respiration Lab, Institute of Psichiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Physical Activity Neuroscience, Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niterói, Brazil.
Sergio
S
Machado
Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Arunas
A
Emeljanovas
Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Sigitas
S
Kamandulis
Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Albertas
A
Skurvydas
Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Mirko
M
Wegner
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; D009446:Neurobiology; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System
D006854:Hydrocortisone
Age; Cortisol; Depression; Exercise; Exercise intensity; HPA-axis