Fig. 6: The interaction between the brain and skeletal muscle. | Molecular Psychiatry

Fig. 6: The interaction between the brain and skeletal muscle.

From: Central-peripheral neuroimmune dynamics in psychological stress and depression: insights from current research

Fig. 6

The brain regulates muscle function and peripheral metabolism through the control of sympathetic nerve activity and cortisol secretion, mediated by internal signaling and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. During muscle contraction, skeletal muscles release significant amounts of myokines, metabolites, exosomes, and actin molecules into the bloodstream. These bioactive substances, either as soluble factors or enclosed within extracellular vesicles (EVs), can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and promote neurotrophic signaling in brain regions involved in cognitive, executive, and metabolic regulatory functions. The illustration was created using resources from Biorender.com.

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