Early psychosis patients exhibit cortical reductions and poor cardiovascular health, which may be worsened by antipsychotic medication. Aerobic exercise and yoga may be able to remediate cortical loss and improve symptom severity. First-episode psychosis patients who completed a twelve-week exercise program showed increased cortical volume and thickness compared to waitlist controls with differential effects of aerobic exercise and yoga. Exercise-mediated changes in brain measures were associated with greater improvement in symptom severity scores. Both aerobic exercise and yoga may have neuroanatomical and clinical benefits for early psychosis patients and may be a safe, cost-effective adjunct treatment.
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