ReviewLife (Basel, Switzerland)2023
Exercise for Mental Well-Being: Exploring Neurobiological Advances and Intervention Effects in Depression.
Review in Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 44 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Psychosocial Interventions on Loneliness Amongst Long-Term Care Residents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Mapping the effects of exercise on cognition and physical function: a scoping review of rodent studies.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different types of mind-body exercises on depressive symptoms in older adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- The Effects of Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Depression and Anxiety: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of exercise intervention on children and adolescents with depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of exergames on depression, anxiety, and sleep in adolescents with subthreshold depression: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Trial
- The effects of an integrated sports and arts intervention on response joint attention (RJA) eye-movement characteristics in children with mild autism.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The effect of exercise training videos on self-esteem of 7-10-year-old obese girls: A randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Associations between domain-specific physical activity, sedentary behavior, and binge drinking among adults in the United States and China: evidence from a cross-sectional study, daily tracking, and randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- The effects of positive psychology and physical activity on depression, anxiety, and stress among students with premenstrual syndrome: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2024Trial
- Exercise and Nutrition in the Mental Health of the Older Adult Population: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- 24-h Movement Guideline Adherence and Mental Health in University Students: Patterns Across Adherence Levels and Academic Fields.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Molecules of mood: the integrated molecular transducers of exercise's antidepressant effects.Molecular genetics and genomics : MGG · 2026Review
- Didactic adaptation of basketball in physical education to reduce anxiety and emotional eating in adolescent girls with obesity: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The indirect effect of physical activity on aggression among university student-athletes: the mediating role of state anger.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Modeled associations between university physical education mechanisms and students' mental health.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Accelerometer-derived "weekend warrior" and regular physical activity on long-term risk of irritable bowel syndrome and subsequent depression: a large-scale prospective cohort study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Depression is a common mental disorder in which patients often experience feelings of sadness, fatigue, loss of interest, and pleasure. Exercise is a widely used intervention for managing depression, but the specific molecular mechanisms underlying its antidepressant effect are unclear. In this narrative review, we aim to synthesize current knowledge on the molecular, neural, and physiological mechanisms through which exercise exerts its antidepressant effect and discuss the various exercise interventions used for managing depression. We conducted a narrative review of the literature on the topic of exercise and depression. Our review suggests that exercise impacts peripheral tryptophan metabolism, central inflammation, and brain-derived neurotrophic factors through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ activating factor 1α (PGC-1α) in skeletal muscles. The uncarboxylated osteocalcin facilitates "bone-brain crosstalk", and exercise corrects atypical expression of brain-gut peptides, modulates cytokine production and neurotransmitter release, and regulates inflammatory pathways and microRNA expression. Aerobic exercise is recommended at frequencies of 3 to 5 times per week with medium to high intensity. Here we highlight the significant potential of exercise therapy in managing depression, supported by the molecular, neural, and physiological mechanisms underlying its antidepressant effect. Understanding the molecular pathways and neural mechanisms involved in exercise's antidepressant effect opens new avenues for developing novel therapies for managing depression.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.