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Cited by 183Stress Responses and CortisolNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorPhysical Activity and Health

Exercise, Stress Resistance, and Central Serotonergic Systems

Open access
Greenwood, Benjamin N., Fleshner, Monika·2011·Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews
DOI 10.1097/jes.0b013e31821f7e45PMC PMC4303035
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Abstract

In Brief Voluntary exercise reduces the incidence of stress-related psychiatric disorders in humans and prevents serotonin-dependent behavioral consequences of stress in rodents. Evidence reviewed herein is consistent with the hypothesis that exercise increases stress resistance by producing neuroplasticity at multiple sites of the central serotonergic system, which all help to limit the behavioral impact of acute increases in serotonin during stressor exposure. Neuroplasticity in the central serotonin system contributes to the protective effect of voluntary exercise against stress-induced anxiety.

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  • The dissociative PTSD pattern involves hyperactivity of anterior brain regions associated with arousal and emotion regulation, including medial prefrontal cortex and rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex.

    “The dissociative pattern of response involves hyperactivity of anterior brain regions associated with arousal and emotion regulation§§§§ (medial prefrontal cortex; rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex),55,120”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [120]

    The section “DRN Afferents: the Locus Coeruleus and Medial Prefrontal Cortex” (page unavailable) describes the medial prefrontal cortex as regulating stress responses and proposes that it may become more active during stress after exercise. It does not address a dissociative PTSD pattern or hyperactivity of the rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • A review of available data suggests that tonic immobility, peritraumatic dissociation, and dissociative PTSD may be mediated by a shared neural network involving amygdala deactivation, absence of sympathetically mediated arousal symptoms, parasympathetic activation, and analgesia.

    “A review of available data suggests that tonic immobility, peritraumatic dissociation, and dissociative PTSD may be mediated by a shared neural network involving amygdala deactivation, absence of sympathetically mediated arousal symptoms (decreased skin conductance and an absence of heart rate increases), parasympathetic activation (a decrease in heart rate in some studies, presumably reflecting a”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [120]

    The ‘Stress-Related Behaviors and Learned Helplessness’ section mentions PTSD as a stress-related disorder, and the ‘DRN Afferents’ section says exercise constrains sympathetic activation. Neither addresses a shared network linking tonic immobility, peritraumatic dissociation, and dissociative PTSD. Searches for those terms and for parasympathetic activation, analgesia, skin conductance, and heart-rate changes found no supporting passage; page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Imaging studies using traumatic scripts have demonstrated that patients with dissociative PTSD have the opposite response pattern from patients with reexperiencing/hyperarousal PTSD.

    “Imaging studies using traumatic scripts have demonstrated that patients with dissociative PTSD have the opposite response pattern from patients with the reexperiencing/hyperarousal PTSD”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [120]

    The “Stress-Related Behaviors and Learned Helplessness” section mentions PTSD as a stress-related disorder, but discusses rodent responses to uncontrollable stress rather than imaging of PTSD patients. Searches for dissociative PTSD, traumatic scripts, and reexperiencing/hyperarousal found no passage comparing those patient groups’ response patterns. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The dissociative PTSD pattern involves lack of amygdala activation to trauma narrative.

    “lack of amygdala activation to trauma narrative (the amygdala is inhibited by the anterior brain regions previously mentioned),120”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [120]

    The Stress-Related Behaviors and Learned Helplessness section mentions PTSD, but does not discuss a dissociative pattern or responses to trauma narratives. The DRN Afferents section describes prefrontal inhibition of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons, not inhibition of the amygdala. Searches for dissociative PTSD and amygdala activation during trauma recall found no passage addressing the claim; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 33

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Sorted by citations

Authors
Greenwood, B. N., & Fleshner, M.
Affiliations
University of Colorado Boulder (US)
Corresponding author
Greenwood, Benjamin N.
ORCID
Venue
Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2011-07
Volume
39
Issue
3
Pages
140-149
ISSN
0091-6331 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/jes.0b013e31821f7e45
PMC
PMC4303035
OpenAlex
W2322145489
Cited by
183
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 15
FWCI
0.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH086665, R01MH068283, R03MH086665, MH-068283)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI048555)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
Keywords
voluntary exercise, stress tolerance, central serotonergic system, serotonin, neuroplasticity, stress-induced anxiety, mental illness, acute stress response
MeSH terms
Animals, Helplessness, Learned, Humans, Locus Coeruleus, Male, Neuronal Plasticity, Serotonin, Stress, Psychological, Exercise, Prefrontal Cortex, Mice, Rats

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