Exercise induces depression-blocking gene

clipped from arstechnica.com The effects of exercise on the brain may go well beyond a runner's high, if new research in Nature Medicine applies to species beyond mice. A paper published over the weekend describes a study in which researchers looked at the effects of exercise on the brain and found an unexpected link to clinical depression. It looks like hitting the exercise wheel can help mice avoid some behaviors that appear to be analogous to depression symptoms in humans. They found 33 genes that had significantly altered expression after a week's worth of workouts. One gene (Vgf) caught their attention because other researchers had identified it as being induced by electroshock therapy, a treatment for extreme depression; other evidence had previously suggested that exercise also helps reduce the symptoms of this disorder. The researchers found that both exercise and infusing Vgf into the brains of mice produced effects similar to antidepressants. these results still need to be confirmed in humans.