VEGFA and major depressive disorder: Rehabilitation exercise can improve cognitive function, clinical symptoms such as depression and anxiety (Pearce et al. 2022a), and can also protect the nervous system by inducing the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor I and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which has a beneficial effect on brain plasticity (Ruiz-González et al. 2021a; Morland et al. 2017a).