SynthesisFrontiers in physiology2023
Exercise improves depression through positive modulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). A review based on 100 manuscripts over 20 years.
Synthesis in Frontiers in physiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 4 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
28 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Aerobic exercise for depression symptoms in adolescents: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- The Effects of Exergaming on the Depressive Symptoms of People With Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of three aerobic exercise modalities (walking, running, and cycling) on circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- The Optimal Type and Dose of Exercise for Elevating Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels in Patients With Depression: A Systematic Review With Pairwise, Network, and Dose-Response Meta-Analyses.Depression and anxiety · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Exercise and Brain Health in Postmenopausal Women: A Review of Cognitive Benefits, Mechanisms, and Neurodegeneration Prevention.NeuroSci · 2026Review
- Effectiveness of Virtual Exercise Intervention in Adults With Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Gene-Physical Activity Interplay in Depression: Candidate-Gene Interactions, Polygenic Susceptibility, Lifestyle Context, and Mendelian Randomization Evidence-Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Molecules of mood: the integrated molecular transducers of exercise's antidepressant effects.Molecular genetics and genomics : MGG · 2026Review
- Article
- High-intensity training vs. low-intensity training for patients with anxiety: a randomised controlled trial.Trials · 2026Article
- Moderate Vigorous Physical Activity for Mental Health in Sedentary Middle-Aged Adults.International journal of exercise science · 2026Article
- Exercise as a multimodal intervention for adolescent depression: integrating neuroplasticity, BDNF signaling, stress biomarkers, exercise intensity, digital mental health interventions, and precision psychiatry.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Maximal fat oxidation training improves mental health in children with obesity: a 2-month randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- The relationship between physical activity levels and depressive symptoms: a mediation analysis of flow state in university students.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Polyphenol-Based Nutritional Strategies Combined With Exercise for Brain Function and Glioma Control: Focus on Epigenetic Modifications, Cognitive Function, Learning and Memory Processes.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- Virtual sailing exercise to improve major depressive disorder: A pilot clinical trial protocol.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2025Article
- Acute effects of a single bout of high-intensity strength and endurance exercise on cognitive biomarkers in young adults and elderly men: a within-subjects crossover study.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Nonregular Physical Activity and Handgrip Strength as Indicators of Fatigue and Psychological Distress in Cancer Survivors.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- From Synaptic Plasticity to Neurodegeneration: BDNF as a Transformative Target in Medicine.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this review was to explore the relevant neurobiology and the association between peripheral levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and acute and short to long-term exercise regimes, as well as its relation to depression and antidepressant treatment. A 20-year literature search was conducted. The screening process resulted in 100 manuscripts. Antidepressants as well as acute exercise, particularly high-intensity, elevates BDNF in healthy humans and clinical populations, as evidenced from aerobic and resistance-based studies. Although exercise is increasingly recognised in the management of depression, acute and short-term exercise studies have failed to establish a relationship between the severity of depression and changes in peripheral BDNF. The latter rapidly returns to baseline, possibly indicating a quick re-uptake by the brain, aiding its neuroplasticity functions. The timescale of administration needed for the antidepressants to stimulate biochemical changes is longer than similar increases with acute exercise.
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What Socratic holds
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 Socratic graph.