Effects of a Single-bout of Moderate-intensity Aerobic Exercise on Mood and Mental Health Biomarkers in Adults with Depressive And/or Anxiety Symptoms

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Healthy; Depression Symptoms; Anxiety Symptoms

• Registration Number: NCT06736067
• Lead Sponsor: YAU Suk Yu Sonata

Brief Summary

This study investigates whether a single session of aerobic exercise (like running) can improve the participants' mood and whether such benefits can be explained by changes in the blood factors (like hormones) and brain activity.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

* Can a single session of aerobic exercise improve mood?

* Which changes in the blood and brain could explain the effects of exercise on mood?

Researchers will compare the participants' mood states before and after exercise to see whether exercise can improve mood.

The participants will:

* Answer questionnaires, collect blood, and undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before exercise.

* Perform 30 minutes of running on a treadmill.

* Answer the same questionnaires, collect blood, and undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after exercise.

The entire assessment will last for about 2h45min and will be performed on a single day.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-07-18
• Primary Completion: 2024-08-24
• Study Completion: 2024-08-26
• Status Verified: 2024-12
• Study First Submitted: 2024-12-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-12-12
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-12-12
• Study First Posted: 2024-12-16
• Last Update Posted: 2024-12-16

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 40

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy subjects within the stipulated age range

Exclusion Criteria

• Acute injury or illness that impairs the ability to safely exercise and/or inability to exercise with a moderate intensity;
• Metabolic and/or neurologic disorders;
• Iron implants;
• People who cannot stay still, are intolerant of noise or fearful of enclosed spaces (due to the small space inside the scanner).

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Profile of Mood States (POMS)	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	POMS is a 30-item questionnaire scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from "Not at all" to "Extremely." It provides six sub≥scales: 1) anger (e.g., grouchy, furious); 2) confusion (e.g., muddled, forgetful); 3) depression (e.g., sad, unworthy); 4) fatigue (e.g., tired, sluggish); 5) tension (e.g., nervous, anxious); and 6) vigor (e.g., lively, active).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Subjective Exercise Experience Scale (SEES)	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	SEES is a 12-item questionnaire that is scored on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from "Not at all" to "Very much". It Provides 3 subscales that will be used in the present study: 1) psychological well-being (great, positive, strong, terrific); 2) psychological distress (awful, crummy, discouraged, miserable); and 3) fatigue (drained, exhausted, fatigued, tired).
Subject Happiness Scale (SHS)	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	SHS is a 4-item self-report measure developed to assess an individual's overall happiness as measured through self-evaluation. The response format is a 7-point Likert-type scale.
Blood biomarkers	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	Blood biomarkers, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Adiponectin
Cardiovascular parameters	Before, during, and immediately after a single session of exercise	Heart Rate Variability (HRV) will be monitored during all the exercise protocol.
BOLD-weighted fMRI images	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	BOLD-weighted fMRI images will be acquired using a gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (GRE-EPI) sequence with (a) repetition time = 2000 ms, (b) echo time = 30 ms, (c) flip angle = 90°, (d) matrix = 64 × 64, (e) field of view = 220 mm × 220 mm, (f) slice thickness = 4 mm with interslice gap = 0.6 mm, and (g) 33 interleaved axial slices. Additionally, weighted images will be acquired with an interleaved sequence (188 sagittal slices, TR/TE/flip angle = 8.2 ms/3.7 ms/7°, matrix = 256 × 256 mm2, FOV = 256 × 256 × 188 mm, and voxel size = 1 × 1 × 1 mm3).
Diffusion-weighted image (DWI)	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	Whole-brain diffusion-weighted image (DWI) will be collected with a single-shot diffusion-weighted echo planar imaging sequence (TE, 83 ms; TR, 8700 ms; flip angle, 90°; image resolution, 1.64 mm isotropic; b value, 800 s/mm2; 70 axial slices) in 30 diffusion encoding directions and one non-diffusion-weighted reference image (b = 0).
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)	From before to immediately after a single session of exercise	Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) will be utilized to measure levels of glutamate and GABA.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, Hong Kong