A meta-analytic review of the effects of exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor

By Kristin L. Szuhany, Matteo Bugatti, M. Otto. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2014

784 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Consistent evidence indicates that exercise improves cognition and mood, with preliminary evidence suggesting that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may mediate these effects. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to provide an estimate of the strength of the association between exercise and increased BDNF levels in humans across multiple exercise paradigms. We conducted a meta-analysis of 29 studies (N = 1,111 participants) examining the effect of exercise on BDNF levels in three exercise paradigms: (1) a single session of exercise, (2) a session of exercise following a program of regular exercise, and (3) resting BDNF levels following a program of regular exercise. Moderators of this effect were also examined. Results demonstrated a moderate effect size for increases in BDNF following a single session of exercise (Hedges’ g = 0.46, p < 0.001). Further, regular exercise intensified the effect of a session of exercise on BDNF levels (Hedges’ g = 0.58, p = 0.02). Finally, results indicated a small effect of regular exercise on resting BDNF levels (Hedges’ g = 0.28, p = 0.005). When analyzing results across paradigms, sex significantly moderated the effect of exercise on BDNF levels, such that studies with more women showed less BDNF change resulting from exercise. Effect size analysis supports the role of exercise as a strategy for enhancing BDNF activity in humans, but indicates that the magnitude of these effects may be lower in females relative to males.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Neuroscience

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/963da028567dd3d54ca10331f098c861e096f411

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

1. L. Colucci-D'Amato
2. Floriana Volpicelli
3. Luisa Speranza
4. P. Bekinschtein

In Cognitive Neuroscience

1. Paul B. Fitzgerald
2. Richard A. Bryant
3. P. Bekinschtein

Citations in the corpus

• Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor: A Key Molecule for Memory in the Healthy and the Pathological Brain (2019, background): “Additionally, the increase in BDNF is one of the most consistent changes reported following exercise, as recently discussed in a meta-review (Szuhany et al., 2015).”
• Neurotrophic Factor BDNF, Physiological Functions and Therapeutic Potential in Depression, Neurodegeneration and Brain Cancer (2020, background): “It has repeatedly been demonstrated that an acute bout of aerobic exercise transiently increases both serum and plasma BDNF in an intensity-dependent manner [10,11].”
• Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders (2015, background): “A possible mechanism appears to involve brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Szuhany et al., 2015).”
• Effect of aerobic exercise on hippocampal volume in humans: A systematic review and meta‐analysis (2018, positive): “236 recent meta-analytic evidence has demonstrated this is upregulated by regular exercise in humans (Szuhany et al., 2015).”