Exercise for depression: A feasibility trial exploring neural mechanisms
Open accessAbstract
Objective The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of an exercise augmentation to pharmacotherapy in depressed younger and older adults while exploring neural mechanisms.Methods A randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted in 15 inactive younger (20-39 years) and older (60-79 years) adults meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria for a major depressive episode (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02407704). Participants were randomized to receive a 12-week regimen of venlafaxine XR or venlafaxine XR plus supervised exercise. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a submaximal Vo 2 test, and neuroimaging assessments were conducted using a Siemans MAGNETOM 7-Tesla magnetic resonance scanner at the University of Pittsburgh.Results Attrition was 38% and 14% for the medication and exercise groups, respectively. Attendance was 91% for the exercise intervention. Exploratory analyses revealed an association between improvement in fitness and increased cortical thickness in the anterior cingulate cortex.Conclusion Exercise augmentation to pharmacotherapy is feasible for depressed younger and older adults and may have neural benefits in a core brain region implicated in depression.
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PMSB may be a strategy to address the substantial unmet need for disability services among elder populations.
“As such, it may be a strategy to address the great unmet need for disability services in elder populations (64).”
From Effectiveness of a Disability Preventive Intervention for Minority and Immigrant Elders: The Positive Minds-Strong Bodies Randomized Clinical Trial (2019) · cites this paper as [64]
The Methods and Conclusions describe a supervised exercise intervention for depression, not PMSB. The Results address feasibility, but no passage addresses unmet need for disability services among older adults (searched: PMSB, unmet need, disability services). Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- Gujral, S., Aizenstein, H., Reynolds, C. F., Butters, M. A., Grove, G., Karp, J. F., & Erickson, K. I.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gujral, Swathi
- ORCID
- Venue
- The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-06
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 611-616
- ISSN
- 1064-7481 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6511318
- OpenAlex
- W2909523799
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 3.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Clinical Center
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- major depressive disorder, venlafaxine, supervised exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness, anterior cingulate cortex, cortical thickness, older adults, young adults, feasibility, attrition, neurobiology of depression
- MeSH terms
- Venlafaxine Hydrochloride, Adult, Aged, Brain, Major Depressive Disorder, Double-Blind Method, Exercise Therapy, Feasibility Studies, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Pennsylvania, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation, Young Adult
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