Decreased Exercise-Induced Changes in Prefrontal Cortex Hemodynamics Are Associated With Depressive Symptoms.

People with a depressed mood tend to perform poorly on executive function tasks, which require much of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), an area of the brain which has also been shown to be hypo-active in this population. Recent research has suggested that these aspects of cognition might be improved through physical activity and cognitive training. However, whether the acute effects of exercise on PFC activation during executive function tasks vary with depressive symptoms remains unclear. To investigate these effects, 106 participants were given a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and were administered a set of executive function tests directly before and after the CPET assessment. The composite effects of exercise on the PFC (all experimental blocks) showed bilateral activation changes in dorsolateral (BA46/9) and ventrolateral (BA44/45) PFC, with the greatest changes occurring in rostral PFC (BA10). The effects observed in right ventrolateral PFC varied depending on level of depressive symptoms (13% variance explained); the changes in activation were less for higher levels. There was also a positive relationship between CPET scores (VO2peak) and right rostral PFC, in that greater activation changes in right BA10 were predictive of higher levels of aerobic fitness (9% variance explained). Since acute exercise ipsilaterally affected this PFC subregion and the inferior frontal gyrus during executive function tasks, this suggests physical activity might benefit the executive functions these subregions support. And because physical fitness and depressive symptoms explained some degree of cerebral upregulation to these subregions, physical activity might more specifically facilitate the engagement of executive functions that are typically associated with hypoactivation in depressed populations. Future research might investigate this possibility in clinical populations, particularly the neural effects of physical activity used in combination with mental health interventions.

Involving people with communication disability in research in Uganda: a response to the World Report on Disability.

The World Report on Disability recommends more involvement of people with disabilities in research. However, the lead article by Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall (2013) has not addressed issues relating specifically to the involvement of people with communication disabilities in research. This deserves careful consideration. Involving people with communication difficulties in research forefronts discussion and collaboration, and requires researchers to focus on the priorities and needs of people with communication disabilities in their locality. Taking a participatory approach to research can develop a rich, context-specific understanding of communication disabilities. This paper uses the first author's experience preparing for a participatory research project in Uganda, to outline, particularly with reference to the Majority World, the benefits and challenges of engaging people with communication disabilities in research.