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Aim. There is convergent evidence that exercise increases psychological well-being; however, the mechanism of this psychological effect of exercise is not yet completely understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aerobic exercise training on brain structure and psychological well-being in young adults.
Methods. University students who had not regularly exercised were divided into training group (N.=15) and control group (N.=15). The training group performed a total 30 periods of aerobic exercise training, while the control group never performed. Whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging scans and mental health questionnaire examinations were performed before and after the exercise training period for all of the participants. A voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis was used to compare the changes in gray-matter volumes in the two groups. VBM is an objective whole-brain technique for characterization of regional cerebral volume and tissue concentration differences in structural magnetic resonance images.
Results. The results of VBM analysis revealed no change in gray-matter volume in the training group, although the gray-matter volume of the left insula was significantly decreased in the control group after the exercise training period. The training group exhibited significant improvement in some scores on the mental health questionnaire after the exercise training period, compared with the control group.
Conclusion. These findings suggest that aerobic exercise training may inhibit gray-matter volume loss in the insula, and that a relationship may exist between preservation of insula gray-matter and improvement of psychological well-being by aerobic exercise training.
KEY WORDS: Exercise - Magnetic resonance imaging - Cerebral cortex.
Problems with mental health are becoming a social issue. Psychological problems initiate psychiatric diseases and can aggravate depression and anxiety. Eventually, decline in social contact and decrease in desire to work may result from this.
Many psychological studies have suggested that exercise improves psychological well-being.1-3 Stephens 3 demonstrated that physical activity of moderate intensity is related to reduction of depressive symptoms. In addition, International Society of Sport Psychology 2 described that psychological effects of exercise include reductions in neuroticism, anxiety, and various indices of stress. Exercise may play a crucial role in controlling depression and stress along with medical management. Indeed, a recent well-controlled study demonstrated beneficial effects of exercise in depressed patients.4 However, few physiological studies have demonstrated the mechanisms of...