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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1505959

A Comparison of The Acute Effects of High Intensity Interval Training and Moderate Intensity Continuous Training on Working Memory and Emotional State in Adolescent Women with Subthreshold Depression

Provisionally accepted
Shiwei Yuan Shiwei Yuan 1Lili Lin Lili Lin 1Libin Liu Libin Liu 1Xinyuan Zhang Xinyuan Zhang 1Qian Gu Qian Gu 2*
  • 1 Wuxi Vocational College, of Science and Technology, Wuxi, Liaoning Province, China
  • 2 School of Physical Education, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Various guidelines emphasize the cognitive and emotional benefits of physical activity. However, it is not yet clear what kind of exercise intensity is suitable for individuals with subthreshold depression. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) on the working memory and emotional state.Method: Forty-nine female students with subthreshold depression (mean age 16.3 ± 0.5 yrs) completed 20-minute group of sit (SIT), MICT, and HIIT on separate days in a counterbalanced order. The modified n-back task was employed to evaluate working memory. Emotional state was assessed using the Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS).Results: Regarding working memory, for accuracy, SIT (82.41 ± 13.79%), MICT (81.79 ± 13.19%) and HIIT (82.06 ± 11.36%) have no significant difference (all p > 0.05). However, for reaction time, MICT (459.86 ± 131.47 ms) is significantly faster than HIIT (491.16 ± 115.68 ms) (p = 0.046), and there is no significant difference between MICT and SIT (462.71 ± 120.64 ms) (p > 0.05). Concerning emotional state, for arousal, FAS scores significantly increased after both HIIT (2.39 ± 1.30 to 3.76 ± 1.12, p < 0.001) and MICT (2.55 ± 0.88 to 3.94 ± 1.08, p < 0.001) compared to pre-exercise, and the increase caused by them was significantly higher than that of SIT (HIIT: p=0.011; MICT: p<0.01). For pleasure, the increase in FS score after MICT (-0.27 ± 1.13 to 1.06 ± 1.79) was significantly higher than that of SIT (0.32 ± 1.38 to 0.58 ± 1.53) (p < 0.01).Conclusions: Acute MICT can enhance working memory and improve the emotional state of adolescent women with subthreshold depression, while HIIT may decrease working memory and pleasure in this particular population.

    Keywords: depression1, Executive function2, pleasure3, arousal4, exercise intensity5

    Received: 09 Oct 2024; Accepted: 23 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Yuan, Lin, Liu, Zhang and Gu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Qian Gu, School of Physical Education, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250358, Shandong Province, China

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