2. MENTAL HEALTH & COGNITIVE FUNCTION Flashcards
Quality of Life x Exercise:
Domains Most Influenced by Exercise
- physical
- independence
- psychological
- social
- environmental
- spiritual
> > important that individuals perceive positive changes in each domain
Emotional Well Being
- experiencing positive moods and emotions
- reducing frequency, strength, and duration of negative moods
- learning to cope with negative moods and emotions
- particularly relevant (70% increase in neg emotions with onset of COVID)
Emotion
- short lived
- immediate response to a stimulus
- examples: fear, guilt, pride
Mood
- longer duration
- set of feelings; irritation, cheerfulness
- “mood states”
Affect
- can still be temporary
- emotions and moods contribute to affect
- broader, more basic
- valenced (i.e good v bad, positive v negative)
How does exercise impact affective states and mood?
- affect during exercise is different than affect before or after
– negative affect can occur during exercise; typcially stronger with high intensity exercise
– increases in positive affect from pre-exercise to post-exercise in acute exercise
– long term changes in mood for chronic exercise
POMS
Profile of Mood States
- used to assess changes in mood over time with exercise interventions
assesses 6 mood dimensions:
- Tension-Anxiety
- Depression-Dejection
- Anger-Hostility
- Vigor-Activity
- Fatigue-Inertia
- Confusion-Bewilderment
POMS x Iceberg Profile
The Iceberg Profile is a common pattern observed in high-performing athletes when their POMS scores are graphed. This profile is characterized by:
* Higher scores in Vigor (the peak of the “iceberg”)
* Lower scores in Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion (the submerged base of the iceberg)
This profile has been associated with optimal mental states for peak performance, as higher vigor and lower negative emotions contribute to better focus, motivation, and resilience.
Research on Affect & Mood
- exercise increases positive moods and reduces negative moods
(chronic and after exercise) - moderate amounts of exercise can be energizing
» positively valenced states (energy, vigor up)
» negatively valenced states (fatigue, tension, down or unchanged)
Stress, Anxiety, & Depression
–
Stress
- process by which we perceive and respond to stressors
» imbalance between demand and capability
» perception of the threat and ability to cope - active stressors
» response influences the outcome - passive stressors
» your response does not change the threat
Exercise & Stress
active or passive stressor?
how exercise induces stress:
- physiologically demanding situation
» perceived threat
» ability to cope
How Exercise Reduces Stress
- cross-stress adaptation hypothesis
- distraction hypothesis
Cross-stress Adaptation Hypothesis
exercise improves our ability to cope with other stressors
Distraction Hypothesis
- can reduce longer bouts of stress by providing an ‘escape’
- viewed as a positive stressor
Anxiety
- negative psychological and physiological state
Anxiety; Psychological Symptoms
- nervousness
- worry
- fatigue
- apprehension
- arousal
- vigilance
Anxiety; Physiological Symptoms
- heart palpitations
- sweating
- muscle weakness and tension
- fatigue
- nausea
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- headaches
Exercise x Stress Reduction
- yoga linked to reduced stress and anxiety
- moderate aerobic activity beneficial for reduced stress and anxiety (repetitive movements)
- intense activity can have an acute negative effect in short term
Depression
research focuses primarily on exercise and depressive symptoms
findings:
- more physically active people show fewer depressive symptoms
- longitudinal studies - can better show causality
- cross sectional studies - problems with direction of effect
Mechanisms for Depressive Symptom Prevention/Treatment
- endorphin release
- affective changes due to exercise - mastery hypothesis
- satisfaction of completing a task
- seeing improvement - opportunity for social interaction
- reduces isolation
- improved social support
Depression & Physical Activity/Exercise
- more physically active people show fewer depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress
- promotion of physical activity leads to positive mental health effects
Figure 2: Mental Health Burden as Function of Exercise Duration
sweetspots:
- 45 min per session
- 12-16-20 per month
When is Exercise Detrimental
- overtraining –> results in negative moods
- exercise dependence –> primary & secondary
Exercise Dependence: Primary
- exercise is an end to itself
- focus is on improving exercise performance and/or needing to continue to exercise to achieve positive moods/emotions
Exercise Dependence: Secondary
- exercise is used specifically to change body composition
- type of purging
Exercise Dependence: Tolerance
need to increase amount to keep desired effects
Exercise Dependence: Withdrawal
- symptoms when exercise is missed
- exercise releives symptoms
Exercise Dependence: Intention Effects
lasts longer than intended
Exercise Dependence: Loss of Control
wanting to cut back and cannot
Exercise Dependence: Time
organize other aspects of life around exercise
Exercise Dependence: Conflict
giving up other important activities
Exercise Dependence: Continuance
Maintained despite knowledge that it is problematic
How do exercisers become dependent?
- affect regulation hypothesis
- endorphin hypothesis
Affect Regulation Hypothesis
- negative exerciser: to reduce stress, anxiety
- positive exerciser: to improve mood
- habitual exercisers can experience mood disturbances if exercisers stop
Endorphin Hypothesis
exercisers can become dependent on the chemical itself
Cognitive Function
process whereby an individual is able to perceive, recognize, or understand thoughts and ideas
- learning and evaluation
- organizing and planning
- problem solving
- recognition and memory
- reaction time
Executive Control Processes
cognitive functions that are oriented toward goal-directed behavior
- working memory
- interference control; dealing with distraction
- task coordination
- multi-tasking
Why is it important?
Higher fitness levels can slow our cognitive decline
How do we assess cognitive function?
- neuroimaging techniques
- behavioral tests
- pre & post (exercise program / acute exercise bout)
Cognitive Tests
- Working Memory
- Episodic Memory
- Process Distractions/Interference
- Selective Attention
- Forward Planning
- Response Inhibition
Cognitive Tests: Working Memory
TEST: n-back test
- important exec control function
- short-term storage & recall of events
Cognitive Tests: Episodic Memory
TEST: shown images/words in a sequence, have to reproduce in given amount of time
Cognitive Tests: Process Distractions/Interference
TEST: Flanker Test
(3 types stimuli: congruent, incongruent, neutral)
- executive control
- activates anterior cortex, responsible for several functions including processing stimuli
Cognitive Test: Selective Attention
TEST: Stroop Test (Stroop Effect)
(say names of colors you see, not the color you read)
- also an active stressor
Cognitive Test: Forward Planning
TEST: Porteus maze test
(cannot lift pen off paper, cannot backtrack, one continuous line)
- planning, capacity, foresight
Cognitive Test: Response Inhibition
TEST: Simon Says
- voluntary control of response, supressing response after a stimulus
What do these tests tell us?
- normative data
- examine changes in conjunction with specific types of exercise
- most research conducted with moderate aerobic activity
Impact of Exercise: Chronic
(regular)
may result in improvements in cognitive fucntion and even reverse some of the loss of function seen with aging
Impact of Exercise: Acute
(single bouts of activity)
- when accumulated over several months, may have profound positive effect on cognitive processing
- more effects for moderate activity vs intense
Cognitive Function: Challenges Examining During Exercise
difficult to examine cognitive function during exercise
- can look at blood flow, brain activity
- not many behavioral tests
Cognitive Function: Findings During Exercise
- reaction time becomes faster
- response inhibition worsens
Cognitive Function: Intervention Studies
(manipulation of individual’s physical activity)
results suggest aerobic fitness training significantly influences cognitive function
- cognitive tasks involving executive control processes
- aerobic training plus strength training and flexibility training
- more than 30 min per exercise session
Cognitive Function: Mechanisms
- Cardiovascular Fitness Hypothesis
- Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis
- Selective Inprovement Hypothesis
Cardiovascular Fitness Hypothesis
improved cognitive function is a direct result of improved cardiovascular fitness
Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis
- people can have varying amounts of brain ‘reserve’
- physical activity improve brain and cognitive reserves (i.e. enlarged brain volume, more gray/white matter, improved circulation)
Selective Improvement Hypothesis
- benefits of activity vary depending on specific cognitive fucntion
- exercise believed to have greatest impact on front lobe (exec control)
