Effects of Equine Assisted Activities on Veterans With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Change from Baseline to the Conclusion of 8 weeks of EAA in PTSD Symptoms as Assessed by PCL-5 & Brief Symptom Inventory

The Brief Symptom Inventory and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 are questionnaires used to assess the presence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Time frame: Symptoms will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Change from Baseline to 2-months After the Conclusion of EAA in PTSD Symptoms as Assessed by PCL-5 & Brief Symptom Inventory

The Brief Symptom Inventory and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 are questionnaires used to assess the presence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Time frame: Symptoms will be assessed prior to the intervention and 2-months after the end of the EAA sessions.

Change from Baseline to 6-months After the Conclusion of EAA in PTSD Symptoms as Assessed by PCL-5 & Brief Symptom Inventory

The Brief Symptom Inventory and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 are questionnaires used to assess the presence and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Time frame: Symptoms will be assessed prior to the intervention and 6-months after the end of the EAA sessions.

Co-regulation of heart rate between horse and human during EAA sessions.

Co-regulation will be assessed through the telemetric measurement and modeling of heart rate.

Time frame: Co-regulation of heart rate between horse and human will be assessed once a week during a 30 min session for 8 weeks..

Co-regulation of cortisol between horse and human during EAA sessions.

Co-regulation will be assessed through collection of serial blood samples and subsequent measurement and modeling of plasma cortisol.

Time frame: Co-regulation of cortisol between horse and human will be assessed once a week during a 30 min session in weeks 1,4, and 8 of an 8 week period.

Co-regulation of oxytocin between horse and human during EAA sessions.

Co-regulation will be assessed through collection of serial blood samples and subsequent measurement and modeling of plasma oxytocin.

Time frame: Co-regulation of oxytocin between horse and human will be assessed once a week during a 30 min session in weeks 1,4, and 8 of an 8 week period.

Co-regulation of epinephrine between horse and human during EAA sessions.

Co-regulation will be assessed through collection of serial blood samples and subsequent measurement and modeling of plasma epinephrine.

Time frame: Co-regulation of epinephrine between horse and human will be assessed once a week during a 30 min session in weeks 1,4, and 8 of an 8 week period.

Co-regulation of norepinephrine between horse and human during EAA sessions.

Co-regulation will be assessed through collection of serial blood samples and subsequent measurement and modeling of plasma norepinephrine.

Time frame: Co-regulation of norepinephrine between horse and human will be assessed once a week during a 30 min session in weeks 1,4, and 8 of an 8 week period.

Co-regulation of muscle activity between horse and human during EAA sessions.

Co-regulation will be assessed through collection of surface electromyography (sEMG) from the masseter, brachiocephalas, and cervical trapezius muscles and subsequent modeling.

Time frame: Co-regulation of muscle activity between horse and human will be assessed once a week during a 30 min session over an 8 week period.

Changes in co-regulation of heart rate during dyadic (human-human) interactions following 8 weeks of EAA

Co-regulation will be assessed through the measurement and modeling of heart rate during gazing, not looking, resting, and mimicking tasks.

Time frame: Co-regulation will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Changes in social motor synchrony during dyadic (human-human) interactions following 8 weeks of EAA

Social motor synchrony will be assessed through the measurement and modeling of gross motor movement during a pendulum swinging task.

Time frame: Social motor synchrony will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Changes in resting heart rate following 8 weeks of EAA

Telemetric heart rate monitors will be used to collect resting heart rate.

Time frame: Resting heart rate will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Changes in basal plasma cortisol concentration following 8 weeks of EAA

Plasma concentrations of cortisol will be measured via immunoassay following blood draws during rest.

Time frame: Cortisol concentrations will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Changes in plasma basal oxytocin concentration following 8 weeks of EAA

Plasma concentrations of oxytocin will be measured via immunoassay following blood draws during rest.

Time frame: Plasma oxytocin concentrations will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Changes in basal plasma epinephrine concentration following 8 weeks of EAA

Plasma concentrations of epinephrine will be measured via immunoassay following blood draws during rest.

Time frame: Plasma epinephrine concentrations will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.

Changes in basal plasma norepinephrine concentration following 8 weeks of EAA

Plasma concentrations of norepinephrine will be measured via immunoassay following blood draws during rest.

Time frame: Plasma norepinephrine concentrations will be assessed prior to the intervention and immediately following the eight week intervention.