ABSTRACT
Mental illness affects a significant portion of the population. Many of these people also suffer from poor cardiovascular health, and some experts feel these different types of illness are more related than they might appear. Many of the common types of mental illness respond to drug therapy. The drugs do not cure the disease, but they help the afflicted individuals cope and function better. Many of these drugs manipulate neurotransmitter levels in the brain. The neurotransmitters are important in how nerve cells communicate with each other. The ability of drugs to change neurotransmitter levels and alter brain function has led to a variety of theories concerning defective neurotransmitter signaling as a contributor to mental illness. Newer theories incorporate neurogenesis, where the production of nerve growth factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can help produce new cells in certain regions of the adult mammalian brain. BDNF also contributes to the plasticity of the brain by increasing synaptic activity and the overall health of neurons. The lack of sufficient neurogenesis and plasticity may contribute to depression, bipolar disease, and age-related decrease in brain function.
Exercise is becoming an important intervention in mental health. Exercise can increase BDNF, neurogenesis, and neuronal plasticity, providing an overlapping model for how drugs and exercise contribute to mental health. Given these benefits combined with our increasing understanding of exercise’s ability to combat stress and improve cardiovascular health, it is becoming clear how exercise contributes to a healthy lifestyle.
