There are some pretty incredible implications here. For people who can exercise<\/a>, even one workout could offer immediate relief for symptoms of anxiety or depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n The same mechanism could inspire a class of new, fast-acting antidepressant drugs that take effect much more quickly than traditional treatments such as SSRIs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related: Severe ‘Melancholia’ Depression Can Be Diagnosed by Facial Expression<\/a><\/p>\n “Rapid-acting antidepressant treatments that offer sustained effects and minimal side effects remain scarce,” neurobiologist Sonata Suk-yu Yau of Hong Kong Polytechnic University told Psypost<\/a>.<\/p>\n “This study provides clinical evidence for the effectiveness of a single session of exercise in alleviating depressive symptoms.”<\/p>\n Ongoing physical activity is widely recognized as a means of both treating<\/a> and preventing<\/a> mild to moderate depression. However, not much is known about the effects of a single bout of moderate exercise \u2013 a nice jog, for example.<\/p>\n Emerging evidence seems to suggest that bursts of exercise<\/a> have a positive effect<\/a> on individuals with depression; Yau and her colleagues wanted to quantify that effect and identify the reason behind it.<\/p>\n They recruited 40 adult humans between the ages of 18 and 40, and a few dozen mice across multiple experimental groups, and got them to work exercising.<\/p>\n The humans were the easy part. Each participant filled out a Profile of Mood States<\/a> survey to assess their mood. Then, they ran on a treadmill for 30 minutes while wearing a heart rate monitor. After exercising, they immediately retook the survey.<\/p>\n Participants both with and without symptoms of anxiety and depression demonstrated a significant mood lift, with symptomatic participants reporting lower anger, confusion, fatigue, depression, and anxiety overall. Meanwhile, esteem and vigor rose across all participants.<\/p>\n To figure out why, the researchers turned to the mice. This is where it becomes unpleasant. To induce depression-like symptoms, some of the animals were put through several weeks of a protocol called chronic unpredictable stress.<\/p>\n This means the mice are subjected to prolonged exposure<\/a> to a variety of inconsistent and unpredictable stressors, such as wet bedding, restraint, a tilted cage, or holding a mouse’s foot to an electrified pad for five minutes.<\/p>\n It results in reductions in grooming behavior, exploration, and curiosity, and an increase in immobility when put through physical tests, similar to symptoms of depression in humans<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some mice were not subjected to this protocol to serve as the control group.<\/p>\n Then, the mice were given a similar burst of moderate exercise on a treadmill, and their behavior was assessed. It worked: both stressed and unstressed mice showed behaviors associated with an elevated mood, including grooming and increased mobility, and spent a longer time attempting to swim when placed in water.<\/p>\n These effects were measured at 2 hours post-exercise, and persisted for at least 24 hours; by 48 hours, the effects had subsided.<\/p>\n To figure out why, the researchers euthanized freshly exercised mice and studied them. They found higher levels of a hormone called adiponectin in both the blood and the medial prefrontal cortex of the mice after exercise, a region of the brain that includes the anterior cingulate cortex<\/a>, a crucial region for emotion regulation.<\/p>\n Brain imaging and mapping revealed that adiponectin switches on a receptor in certain neurons called AdipoR1<\/a>; knocking out that receptor in those neurons in another mouse cohort eradicated the behaviors associated with a positive mood boost.<\/p>\n On further investigation, the researchers found AdipoR1 activates a protein called APPL1<\/a> that moves into the neuron’s nucleus, triggering a cascade of molecular changes that help build or strengthen synapses.<\/p>\n These neurons also formed new dendritic spines<\/a> \u2013 an effect that disappeared when APPL1 was blocked \u2013 suggesting that they, too, play a role in the mood-boosting effects of exercise. A similar dendritic disinhibition is triggered by ketamine<\/a>, which could hold some clues about how it works.<\/p>\n The key here, however, seems to be the activation of AdipoR1 \u2013 it’s like the switch that turns on that post-exercise bliss-out.<\/p>\n That suggests a strong target for therapeutic intervention; indeed, scientists have been investigating the potential of synthetic adiponectin receptor agonist AdipoRon as a treatment for depression<\/a>, although it has not yet been tested in humans.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the study does show a clear mechanism for the mood boost conferred by a workout, suggesting that exercise may be a valid treatment regimen for individuals who struggle with finding an appropriate medication<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Ultimately, our objective is to develop population-based guidelines with optimal single-bout exercise prescriptions for mood improvement, serving as an effective strategy to prevent the development of depression,” Yau said<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763820968_720_0.jpg\")
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