The neuroscience of exercise is a growing research area that is dedicated to furthering our understanding of the effects that exercise has on mental health and athletic performance. The present study examined three specific topics: (1) the relationship between exercise and mental disorders (e.g. major depressive disorder, dementia and Parkinson's disease), (2) the effects of exercise on the mood and mental health of athletes, and (3) the possible neurobiological mechanisms that mediate the effects of exercise. Positive responses to regular physical exercise, such as enhanced functional capacity, increased autonomy and improved self-esteem, are frequently described in the recent literature, and these responses are all good reasons for recommending regular exercise. In addition, physical exercise may improve both mood and adherence to an exercise program in healthy individuals and might modulate both the performance and mental health of athletes. Exercise is associated with the increased synthesis and release of both neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors, and these increases may be associated with neurogenesis, angiogenesis and neuroplasticity. This review is a call-to-action that urges researchers to consider the importance of understanding the neuroscience of physical exercise and its contributions to sports science.

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ResumoContexto: A prática de esportes apresenta efeitos bené cos para o sistema cardiorrespiratório e muscular, para a função comportamental e para a saúde mental. Entretanto, não se sabe o papel do esporte de alto nível na construção de per s resilientes. Objetivos: O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar resiliência, qualidade de vida e ansiedade de ex-atletas de alto rendimento de ginástica artística, de outros esportes e indivíduos não atletas. Métodos: Participaram do estudo ex-atletas de ginástica artística (n = 17), de outras modalidades (n = 15) e indivíduos não atletas (n = 30). AbstractBackground: e practice of sports has bene cial e ects on cardiorespiratory and muscle systems, behavioral function, and mental health. However, the inuence of elite sports on the development of resilience is not known. Objectives: e objective of the present study was to compare resilience, quality of life, and anxiety in ex-athletes of artistic gymnastic and other sports with non-athletic individuals. Methods: Ex-artistic gymnastics athletes (n = 17), ex-athletes of other sports (n = 15), and non-athletic individuals (n = 30) were recruited. Structured anamneses as well as depression, anxiety, resilience and quality of life scales were applied in all groups. Results: Signi cant di erence between groups were found in resilience (p = 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.049), general health status (p = 0.044), and emotional aspects of quality of life (p = 0.002). Ex-athletes showed greater resilience and better quality of life regarding to emotional aspects than non-athletes. Discussion: Sport seems to contribute to the development of a more resilient pro le and better quality of life.

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High performance athletes are constantly facing different situations involving stress. Salivary cortisol has been used as a physiological measure to verify high performance athlete and mental health, in spite of research that has shown that comparisons between cortisol levels in athletes and nonathletes are inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to review articles that investigated salivary cortisol levels at rest in high performance athletes in comparison to physically active or sedentary nonathlete individuals. PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, SciELO, LILACS, and Scopus databases were searched for studies on salivary cortisol in athletes and the size effect was calculated. Although 3 articles reported higher salivary cortisol levels in female athletes compared to a control group, the results showed homogeneity among baseline groups or groups in resting conditions, suggesting a lack of discriminative capacity. These results should be interpreted with caution, due to the presence of substantial methodological bias.

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Background: Athletes might build long-term resilience due to their need to adapt constantly to stressful situations. Further, physical activity is a powerful tool for stress-release, and controlling anxiety and depressive symptoms which might induce resilience by enhancing coping skills. Objective: This study aimed to compare the resilience, psychological characteristics, and the resting-state brain cortical activity of athletes and non-athletes. The secondary goal was to identify which variables could predict the resilience score. Methods: Ninety participants were divided into three groups, athlete (n=30), physically active (n=30) and sedentary (n=30), and asked to fill out the international physical activity questionnaire – short version (IPAQ), the resilience scale, the Beck depression inventory (BDI) and the trait and state anxiety inventory (STAI). Moreover, resting-state brain cortical activity was recorded by using an EEG to compute the standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) analyses. Results: Significant differences between groups were observed in terms of resilience (X2=8.52; p=0.014) and physical activity level (X 2=76.07; p<0.001), with the athletes presenting higher values. Lower anxiety and depression, and higher physical activity levels were associated with higher resilience scores (R2=0.45; p=0.02). The results of sLORETA showed higher activity for sedentary individuals compared to athletes in frontal areas (Broadmann Area-BA 6, BA 8, BA 9), as well as when compared to physically active individuals in the superior frontal gyrus (BA 9). Additionally, physically active individuals presented less activity than athletes in the inferior occipital gyrus (BA 18). Conclusion: The results suggest that the physically active and athlete groups may have built a more resilient profile (compared to sedentary), have similar anxiety and depressive symptoms, and present a divergent resting-state brain cortical activity from the sedentary group, mainly in prefrontal areas. These findings suggest that regular physical activity and sports should be encouraged to aid in enhancing resilience and resting-state brain cortical function, and consequently, improving mental health.

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