Muscle over mind.

Moon, Hyo Youl; van Praag, Henriette · Cell Metab · 2014

Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Depression is associated with elevated kynurenine levels, a tryptophan metabolite generated under stress and inflammatory conditions. Agudelo et al. (2014) now reveal how PGC-1α1 overexpression in muscle mimics anti-depressant effects of exercise by promoting kynurenine aminotransferase expression, likely preventing kynurenine from crossing the blood brain barrier to disrupt neural plasticity.

Medical subject headings