Changes in hippocampal volume and affective functioning after a moderate intensity running intervention.

This study examined the effects of a moderately intense seven-week running intervention on the hippocampal volume and depressive symptoms of young men (20-31 years of age) from the general population (N = 21). A within-subjects-design involving a two-week baseline period before the running intervention, and two subsequent intervention cycles was applied. At four time points of assessment (t: start of the study; t: end of baseline period/start of the intervention; t: end of the first intervention cycle; t: end of the 2nd intervention cycle/study end) magnetic resonance imaging was performed and symptoms related to depression were assessed employing the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale.

Twelve weeks of physical exercise breaks with coordinative exercises at the workplace increase the sulcal depth and decrease gray matter volume in brain structures related to visuomotor processes.

Physical exercise can evoke changes in the brain structure. Consequently, these can lead to positive impacts on brain health. However, physical exercise studies including coordinative exercises are rare.

Validity and reliability of a novel 3D ultrasound approach to assess static lengths and the lengthening behavior of the gastrocnemius medialis muscle and the Achilles tendon in vivo.

Purpose: Human muscle-tendon units (MTUs) are highly plastic and undergo changes in response to specific diseases and disorders. To investigate the pathological changes and the effects of therapeutic treatments, the use of valid and reliable examination methods is of crucial importance. Therefore, in this study, a simple 3D ultrasound approach was developed and evaluated with regard to: (1) its validity in comparison to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the assessment of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) MTU, muscle belly, and Achilles tendon lengths; and (2) its reliability for static and dynamic length measurements.

A two-week running intervention reduces symptoms related to depression and increases hippocampal volume in young adults.

This study examined the effects of a two-week running intervention on depressive symptoms and structural changes of different subfields of the hippocampus in young adults from the general population. The intervention was realized in small groups of participants in a mostly forested area and was organized into seven units of about 60 min each. The study design included two intervention groups which were tested at three time points and which received the intervention time-delayed: The first group between the first and the second time point, and the second group between the second and the third time point (waiting control group).

Enjoyment of watching pimple popping videos: An fMRI investigation.

Background: Millions of people enjoy watching videos of pimple treatments. The underlying neural mechanisms of this enjoyment have not been investigated so far.

Method: We administered a total of 96 video clips from three categories: Pimple Popping (PP), Water Fountains (WF), and Steam Cleaning (SC).

Altered cerebellar-amygdala connectivity in violent offenders: A resting-state fMRI study.

It has repeatedly been reported, that there are differences in grey matter volume (GMV) between violent offenders and non-violent controls. However, it remains unclear, if structural brain abnormalities influence resting-state functional connectivity (RS-fc) between brain regions. Therefore, in the present investigation, 31 male high-risk violent prisoners were compared to 30 non-criminal controls with respect to RS-fc between brain areas.