Effects of Exercise on Electroencephalographic Mean Frequency in Depressed Elderly Subjects

Abstract

Background: An analysis of cortical activity by electroencephalogram (EEG) may show different patterns in depressed and normal individuals. Objectives: Our study aimed (1) to compare the total mean frequency (TMF) and mean EEG frequency per bands (MFB) in depressed and healthy elderly individuals, and (2) to verify the effect of exercise as an additional treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD; according to DSM-IV) via an assessment of depressive symptoms, TMF and MFB. Methods: This research was divided into 2 studies. In study 1, we assessed 45 elderly individuals (13 normal and 32 depressive) in a cross-sectional design to search for differences in TMF and MFB. In study 2, we conducted a longitudinal study to assess the effect of exercise on MDD. Twenty depressed elderly persons who were on clinical treatment were allocated to a control group or an exercise group. Subjects were assessed at baseline and after 6 months with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, also assessing the TMF and MFB. Results: Our cross-sectional study showed that a lower mean frequency (MF) in posterior areas is related to depression in the elderly. Moreover, in our longitudinal study, we observed that depressed elderly individuals showed a better response to treatment and an increase in MF after physical training. Conclusion: The interaction between exercise and pharmacological treatment may increase the TMF in posterior areas of depressed elderly individuals after 6 months.

Effect of aerobic training on EEG alpha asymmetry and depressive symptoms in the elderly: a 1-year follow-up study

“…The increase in right alpha power observed in the control group could be related to a decrease in EEG activity, also observed in elderly individuals with cognitive impairment (38). Several studies have used EEG parameters to investigate treatment response (30,39), since they could be helpful to predict the outcome of antidepressant treatment (39) or for the evaluation of treatment (30). Although alpha power is the most frequently investigated EEG variable, other bands (e.g., theta) and other variables (e.g., EEG mean frequency) have also been utilized with this purpose.…”

“…Although alpha power is the most frequently investigated EEG variable, other bands (e.g., theta) and other variables (e.g., EEG mean frequency) have also been utilized with this purpose. Recently, our laboratory observed that depressed elderly individuals showed an increase in EEG mean frequency after 6 months of exercise training (30). Iosifescu et al (39) found that frontal relative theta power at baseline was significantly lower in responder than in non-responder subjects.…”

“…The present study is part of a research project on the effect of exercise on mental health (Major Depression, Alzheimer and Parkinson), and is a follow-up of another study that investigated the effect of 6 months of exercise as a non-pharmacological treatment (30). Figure 1 (32) and the Multiple-Sit-toStand (MSTS) test (33).…”

Efeito do treinamento físico na qualidade de vida em idosos com depressão maior

“…Estudos longitudinais anteriores também observaram redução significativa dos sintomas depressivos nos idosos com DM após o exercício físico 12,27,28 . Apesar da maioria dos estudos realizar intervenções somente com TA 10,29 , os poucos estudos que utilizaram TF também mostraram resultados positivos para os sintomas depressivos 14,15 .…”

The biological clock keeps ticking, but exercise may turn it back

“…The effect of physical exercise is associated with the reduction of depression symptoms, increase of functional capacity, improvement of quality of life and alterations of cortical activity in depressed older adults 3,25,[30][31][32][33][34][35] . Strength and aerobic training contribute to the increased response to treatment (50% reduction of depression symptoms) and remission (reduction in depression scales to a cut-off score of asymptomatic classification).…”