A 3-month aerobic dance program improved cognitive function and strengthened structural connections within the default mode network in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Sixteen participants in the exercise group showed significant gains in global cognition, memory, and executive function compared to baseline, while the control group showed no change. The exercise group also had increased structural connections between the hippocampus and several temporal regions, as well as between the default mode network and the supplementary motor area. These connectivity changes correlated with better cognitive scores, suggesting that aerobic dance may enhance brain structure and memory in this population.
Adolescents with bipolar depression who also engage in non-suicidal self-injury showed greater improvement in impulsivity, mood, and cognitive function when mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was added to treatment as usual (TAU) compared with TAU alone. After 4 and 8 weeks, the MBCT group had lower scores on measures of impulsiveness, depression, and anxiety, and higher scores on tests of immediate and delayed memory, attention, language, and visuospatial ability. Serum levels of proBDNF, a protein linked to brain plasticity, were also lower in the MBCT group at both time points. The findings suggest that MBCT may reduce self-injurious behavior and improve cognitive function in this population.
The spleen filters blood and supports the immune system. New evidence shows it also influences brain function in health and disease through immune modulation. In mice, systemic inflammation or chronic social defeat stress causes spleen enlargement (splenomegaly). The antidepressant arketamine can reverse both splenomegaly and depression-like behaviors in stressed mice. A direct brain-to-spleen pathway exists: neurons in the paraventricular nucleus and central amygdala regulate humoral immune defense. Vagal nerve signaling also contributes to brain-spleen communication. This review summarizes recent findings on the brain-spleen axis.