Exploring the interrelationships among physical exercise, visuospatial working memory, and depression symptoms in university students

This study aims to investigate the interrelationship between physical exercise, visuospatial working memory, and depression symptoms among university students experiencing depression, while elucidating the potential mediating pathways through which resting-state EEG may modulate these relationships, ultimately providing neural regulation targets for behavioral interventions. This study utilized a case-control design involving 76 university students with depression symptoms and 64 healthy controls. Standardized questionnaires were employed to evaluate behavioral characteristics, and performance on visuospatial working memory tasks was integrated with multidimensional analyses of resting-state EEG to formulate a structural equation model that elucidates the mediating pathways. The analysis revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in demographic variables between the case and control groups (p > 0.05). Notably, significant differences emerged in visuospatial working memory, physical exercise, and depression symptoms when comparing university students with depression to their healthy counterparts (p < 0.05). Furthermore, physical exercise, visuospatial working memory, and depression symptoms exhibited significant correlations among students with depression (p < 0.05). The δ (C3 + C4) was established as a common EEG-specific indicator for all three variables, mediating 26.7% of the total effect [B = -0.031, 95% CI (-0.069, -0.006)], while the direct effect constituted 73.28% of the total effect [B = -0.085, 95% CI (-0.149, -0.019)]. This study demonstrates a significant correlation among physical exercise, visuospatial working memory, and depression symptoms in university students with depression. The δ (C3 + C4) emerges as a potential shared target for these three factors. It is recommended that universities integrate structured physical activity into their mental health programs.