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The impact of endurance training and table soccer on brain metabolites in schizophrenia

Rauchmann, Boris Stephan ; Ghaseminejad, Farhad ; Keeser, Daniel ; Keller-Varady, Katriona ; Schneider-Axmann, Thomas ; Takahashi, Shun ; Karali, Temmuz ; Helms, Gunther LU orcid ; Dechent, Peter and Maurus, Isabel , et al. (2020) In Brain Imaging and Behavior 14(2). p.515-526
Abstract

Higher glutamate and glutamine (together: Glx) and lower N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels were reported in schizophrenia. Endurance training normalizes NAA in the hippocampus, but its effects on other metabolites in the brain and the relationship of metabolites to clinical symptoms remain unknown. For 12 weeks, 20 schizophrenia inpatients (14 men, 6 women) and 23 healthy controls (16 men, 7 women) performed endurance training and a control group of 21 schizophrenia inpatients (15 men, 6 women) played table soccer. A computer-assisted cognitive performance training program was introduced after 6 weeks. We assessed cognitive performance, psychopathological symptoms, and everyday functioning at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks and... (More)

Higher glutamate and glutamine (together: Glx) and lower N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels were reported in schizophrenia. Endurance training normalizes NAA in the hippocampus, but its effects on other metabolites in the brain and the relationship of metabolites to clinical symptoms remain unknown. For 12 weeks, 20 schizophrenia inpatients (14 men, 6 women) and 23 healthy controls (16 men, 7 women) performed endurance training and a control group of 21 schizophrenia inpatients (15 men, 6 women) played table soccer. A computer-assisted cognitive performance training program was introduced after 6 weeks. We assessed cognitive performance, psychopathological symptoms, and everyday functioning at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks and performed single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and thalamus. We quantified NAA, Glx, total creatine (tCr), calculated NAA/tCr and Glx/tCr and correlated these ratios with physical fitness, clinical and neurocognitive scores, and everyday functioning. At baseline, in both schizophrenia groups NAA/tCr was lower in the left DLPFC and left hippocampus and Glx/tCr was lower in the hippocampus than in the healthy controls. After 6 weeks, NAA/tCr increased in the left DLPFC in both schizophrenia groups. Brain metabolites did not change significantly in the hippocampus or thalamus, but the correlation between NAA/tCr and Glx/tCr normalized in the left DLPFC. Global Assessment of Functioning improvements correlated with NAA/tCr changes in the left DLPFC. In our study, endurance training and table soccer induced normalization of brain metabolite ratios in the brain circuitry associated with neuronal and synaptic elements, including metabolites of the glutamatergic system.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Aerobic exercise, Clinical symptoms, Glx, MRS, NAA, Schizophrenia
in
Brain Imaging and Behavior
volume
14
issue
2
pages
12 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:31686308
  • scopus:85074827819
ISSN
1931-7557
DOI
10.1007/s11682-019-00198-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
77102f37-8032-48f2-a4f3-d6469c83ca21
date added to LUP
2019-12-06 10:03:30
date last changed
2024-04-17 00:46:48
@article{77102f37-8032-48f2-a4f3-d6469c83ca21,
  abstract     = {{<p>Higher glutamate and glutamine (together: Glx) and lower N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels were reported in schizophrenia. Endurance training normalizes NAA in the hippocampus, but its effects on other metabolites in the brain and the relationship of metabolites to clinical symptoms remain unknown. For 12 weeks, 20 schizophrenia inpatients (14 men, 6 women) and 23 healthy controls (16 men, 7 women) performed endurance training and a control group of 21 schizophrenia inpatients (15 men, 6 women) played table soccer. A computer-assisted cognitive performance training program was introduced after 6 weeks. We assessed cognitive performance, psychopathological symptoms, and everyday functioning at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks and performed single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and thalamus. We quantified NAA, Glx, total creatine (tCr), calculated NAA/tCr and Glx/tCr and correlated these ratios with physical fitness, clinical and neurocognitive scores, and everyday functioning. At baseline, in both schizophrenia groups NAA/tCr was lower in the left DLPFC and left hippocampus and Glx/tCr was lower in the hippocampus than in the healthy controls. After 6 weeks, NAA/tCr increased in the left DLPFC in both schizophrenia groups. Brain metabolites did not change significantly in the hippocampus or thalamus, but the correlation between NAA/tCr and Glx/tCr normalized in the left DLPFC. Global Assessment of Functioning improvements correlated with NAA/tCr changes in the left DLPFC. In our study, endurance training and table soccer induced normalization of brain metabolite ratios in the brain circuitry associated with neuronal and synaptic elements, including metabolites of the glutamatergic system.</p>}},
  author       = {{Rauchmann, Boris Stephan and Ghaseminejad, Farhad and Keeser, Daniel and Keller-Varady, Katriona and Schneider-Axmann, Thomas and Takahashi, Shun and Karali, Temmuz and Helms, Gunther and Dechent, Peter and Maurus, Isabel and Hasan, Alkomiet and Wobrock, Thomas and Ertl-Wagner, Birgit and Schmitt, Andrea and Malchow, Berend and Falkai, Peter}},
  issn         = {{1931-7557}},
  keywords     = {{Aerobic exercise; Clinical symptoms; Glx; MRS; NAA; Schizophrenia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{515--526}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Brain Imaging and Behavior}},
  title        = {{The impact of endurance training and table soccer on brain metabolites in schizophrenia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11682-019-00198-1}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s11682-019-00198-1}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}