Education does not equally influence all the Mini Mental State Examination subscales and items: inferences from a Brazilian community sample.

Objective: Mini-Mental State Examination cutoffs have been presented for schooling levels to screen cognitive impairment. However, items may behave differently with regards to education. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of education on MMSE subscales and items.

Effects of exercise on electroencephalographic mean frequency in depressed elderly subjects.

Background: An analysis of cortical activity by electroencephalogram (EEG) may show different patterns in depressed and normal individuals.

Objectives: Our study aimed (1) to compare the total mean frequency (TMF) and mean EEG frequency per bands (MFB) in depressed and healthy elderly individuals, and (2) to verify the effect of exercise as an additional treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD; according to DSM-IV) via an assessment of depressive symptoms, TMF and MFB.

Methods: This research was divided into 2 studies.

Exercise and mental health: many reasons to move.

The relationship between physical activity and mental health has been widely investigated, and several hypotheses have been formulated about it. Specifically, during the aging process, physical exercise might represent a potential adjunctive treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment, helping delay the onset of neurodegenerative processes. Even though exercise itself might act as a stressor, it has been demonstrated that it reduces the harmful effects of other stressors when performed at moderate intensities.