Neurobiological effects of aerobic exercise, with a focus on patients with schizophrenia.

Neurobiological effects of aerobic exercise, with a focus on patients with schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2019 May 21;: Authors: Maurus I, Hasan A, Röh A, Takahashi S, Rauchmann B, Keeser D, Malchow B, Schmitt A, Falkai P Abstract Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disease that is associated with neurobiological alterations in multiple brain regions and peripheral organs. Negative symptoms and cognitive deficits are present in about half of patients and are difficult to treat, leading to an unfavorable functional outcome. To investigate the impact of aerobic exercise on various neurobiological parameters, we conducted a narrative review. Add-on aerobic exercise was shown to be effective in improving negative and general symptoms, cognition, global functioning, and quality of life in schizophrenia patients. Based on findings in healthy individuals and animal models, this qualitative review gives an overview of different lines of evidence on how aerobic exercise impacts brain structure and function and molecular mechanisms in patients with schizophrenia and how its effects could be related to clinical and functional outcomes. Structural magnetic resonance imaging studies showed a volume increase in the hippocampus and cortical regions in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls after endurance training. However, results are inconsistent and individual risk factors may influence neuroplastic processes. Ani...
Source: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Source Type: research