Exercise has long been touted as a mood booster, but researchers have now shed new light on how it achieves this effect. A recent study published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology found that exercise strengthens specific brain connections, leading to improved mood and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Led by Li-Kun Ge, PhD, a team of researchers conducted a study involving 76 young adults who were divided into two groups: one that exercised for 30 minutes and another that did not. The exercise group showed significant improvements in mood, while the control group did not.
The researchers used functional MRI (fMRI) to scan the brains of both groups before and after the interventions. They found that exercise-induced mood improvements correlated with increased connectivity between specific brain regions. Notably, the right hemisphere showed enhanced connections with areas involved in emotional regulation, such as the orbitofrontal cortex and cerebellum.
The study’s findings suggest that exercise has a unique impact on the brain, strengthening different neural pathways depending on which amygdala subregion is involved. The medial amygdala was linked to increased self-esteem, while the lateral amygdala was associated with reduced tension and anger. Overall, the research provides new insights into how exercise can improve mood and offers a more nuanced understanding of its therapeutic effects.
The study’s results have significant implications for our understanding of exercise as a tool for mental health. By strengthening brain connections, exercise can help to regulate emotions and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. As one researcher noted, “Acute exercise improves mood via distinct, lateralized neural pathways centered on different amygdala subregions.”
Source: https://www.auntminnie.com/clinical-news/mri/article/15751956/fmri-confirms-yet-again-that-exercise-really-does-improve-mood