Effects Of Single Exercise Sessions Of Different Intensities On Attentional Bias In College Students With Depressive Symptoms

Background Depression among college students has become the most common mental health problem,and attentional bias is a unique process of depression and a trigger for the development,maintenance,and recurrence of depressive symptoms.Acute exercise can improve an individual’s emotional state and reduce the risk of developing depressive symptoms,while also having an impact on the functioning of attentional functions and inhibiting the production of negative emotions.However,it is still unclear whether acute exercise is effective in strengthening the control of attention and increasing the inhibition of negative affective stimuli in depressed college students,and it is also unclear whether there are differences between intensities.ObjectivesBased on the relationship between exercise,attentional bias,and depression,we aimed to investigate the effect of single exercise sessions of different intensities on the attentional bias of depressed college students.Study 1: To understand the performance characteristics of attentional bias of depressed and non-depressed college students,and to identify the proposed targets of the problem;to explore the interrelationship between physical exercise,attentional bias,and depression,and to analyze whether attentional bias mediates the relationship between physical exercise and depression.Study 2: On the basis of Study 1,we investigated the effect of single exercise of different intensities on the attentional bias of depressed college students,and observed whether there is any difference in the effect of single exercise of different intensities on them,and if so,which form of exercise has a significant improvement effect.MethodsStudy 1: Questionnaires were distributed through online distribution social platforms as well as offline teacher promotion and posters,and basic profile information forms,physical activity rating scales,positive/negative attentional bias scales,and Beck Depression Self-Rating Scale were completed;2555 questionnaires were finally included for correlation analysis after recovering and screening the questionnaires and eliminating invalid ones.On this basis,150 university students at school were further recruited for a case-control analysis,with measurements of height and weight indexes and behavioral task tests of attentional bias.The processing and analysis of the questionnaire and behavioral data were performed using SPSS23.0 to explore the two-by-two relationship between physical activity,attentional bias,and depression.Amos 23.0 was used to verify whether attentional bias mediates the relationship between physical activity and depression.Study 2: Based on the previous study,a total of 54 subjects participating in a single exercise session were recruited to test the error rate and reaction time on the emotional Stroop task.The Stroop behavioral data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA to compare the main and interaction effects of the experimental condition(exercise group,control group),attentional bias(emotional potency,facial expressions),and simple effects.Results(1)Under the attention bias paradigm of depressed college students,the error rate of emotionally potent stimuli was significantly higher and the response time was significantly longer than that of non-depressed college students(p<0.01);the error rate of happy and neutral expressions in facial expression stimuli was higher and the response time was longer than that of non-depressed college students(p<0.01).(2)Physical exercise,attentional bias,and depressive symptoms were significantly correlated among college students,with physical exercise positively correlated with positive attentional bias(r=0.187,p<0.05),significantly negatively correlated with negative attentional bias(r=-0.076,p<0.05),and significantly negatively correlated with depression(r=-0.237,p<0.05).(3)Attentional bias mediated the relationship between physical activity and depression,with negative attentional bias mediating the relationship more than positive attentional bias.(4)After 20 minutes of exercise,the error rates of emotional validity and facial expression stimuli were reduced and response times were shorter in college students in the single high-intensity interval exercise group and moderate-intensity continuous exercise group,with significant differences(p<0.05)compared to pre-exercise,especially for negative emotional stimuli;a two-by-two comparison between groups revealed that the single high-intensity interval exercise group > moderate-intensity continuous exercise group > control group.Conclusions(1)Depressed college students had emotional attention bias.(2)The more physical activity,the more positive attentional bias,the less negative attentional bias,and the lower depression scores.(3)Attentional bias may be an intrinsic mechanism by which physical exercise improves depressive symptoms.(4)Single exercise of different intensities has an improvement effect on attentional bias in college students with depressive symptoms,especially on negative emotional stimuli,with the best improvement effect of single high-intensity interval exercise.