Nicotine dependence comorbid with depressive symptoms may limit immediate cognitive improvement following exercise

This study investigated how acute bouts of aerobic exercise versus yoga affect inhibitory control differently in smokers with nicotine dependence depending on the presence of depressive symptoms. Thirty adult smokers were equally divided into a depressed smoker group and a non-depressed smoker group based on their Beck Depression Inventory scores. Each participant underwent baseline measurements, a 30 min aerobic exercise session, and a 30 min yoga session on different days. Brainwaves were recorded at baseline and after exercise during the Go/No-Go task. Performance accuracy, response time, and event-related potential (ERP) N2 and P3 amplitudes and latencies were analyzed. The major findings showed that the non-depressed smoker group exhibited higher accuracy than the depressed smoker group after yoga, and the non-depressed smoker group's response time improved after aerobic exercise compared with baseline. The ERP analyses revealed that the depressed smoker group exhibited smaller N2 and P3 amplitudes and shorter P3 latencies than the non-depressed smoker group. The behavioral and electrophysiological data highlight a possible cognitive deficit among smokers with depressive symptoms due to comorbid depression and addiction. Aerobic exercise elicited a larger P3 amplitude than yoga, suggesting the importance of physical intensity in promoting the active engagement of neural networks associated with inhibitory control processes. These findings suggest that expecting cognitive enhancement through acute exercise in smokers with comorbid depression may be more challenging than that in general smokers.