Daily Fluctuations in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Cognition: Effects of Vigorous Exercise

University of Padova

Status: Completed

Conditions: BDNF

Treatments: Other: Exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07385118

DAILYBDNF

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cognitive functions are fundamental to everyday life, underpinning the mental processes required to perform any activity. Recent studies have shown that improved cognitive performance is associated with elevated levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which can be increased through an acute bout of physical activity. However, daily variations of BDNF serum and plasma remain poorly characterised and are not fully understood, and their correlation with daily variations in cognitive performance has not been previously explored. This study examines:

1) the correlation between daily BDNF fluctuations and cognitive performance. 2) whether a single session of exercise can elevate BDNF levels and lead to measurable cognitive improvements.

Enrollment: 15 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• an age between 18-40 years old
• no history of mental or physical diseases (of a neurological, psychogenic, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory or systemic nature)
• MoCA score higher than 26

Exclusion criteria

• smokers
• individuals experiencing sleep-wake cycle disturbances in the week prior to the study
• consumers of medications with CNS effects

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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15 participants in 1 patient group

BDNF arm

Experimental group

Description:

Every subject will be tested on day 1 and day 2 with the same protocol. Blood samples will be collected at five time points throughout the workday: 09:00 (T1), 11:00 (T2), 13:00 (T3), 15:00 (T4), and 17:00 (T5), to assess potential diurnal variations in BDNF. Cognitive performance will be evaluated using the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), the Flanker task, and the Digit Span Backwards test at T1, T3, and T5. On the second intervention day, the same protocol will be followed, with the addition of a 15-minute single bout of high-intensity physical activity executed at T4.

Treatment:

Other: Exercise