Exercise and Therapeutic Exposure

Thomas Adams12 enrolled

Overview

The proposed project seeks to demonstrate that a brief bout of aerobic exercise can improve a particular type of therapeutic learning among victimins of interpersonal violence with or without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The proposed study has one aim: Specific Aim: To examine the effects of acute exercise on the consolidation of therapeutic safety learning. It is hypothesized that participants who engage in 30-min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise following the first session of imaginal exposure will show larger between-session (visit 2 to 3) reductions in heart rate and anxiety during imaginal exposure to trauma narratives compared to participants who engage in light-intensity exercise.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

PTSD

Interventions

ExperimentalBEHAVIORAL

Behavioral: Moderate Intensity Exercise The moderate-intensity aerobic exercise session will consist of walking or running at a moderate intensity (i.e., between 70-75% maximum heart rate) for 30 minutes on a treadmill.

Active ControlBEHAVIORAL

Behavioral: Low Intensity Exercise Control participants will maintain light-intensity activity (i.e., walking at 40-50% of maximum heart rate) for 30 minutes.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 21 YearsMax age: 50 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Experience of interpersonal violence * English speaking * Medically healthy Exclusion Criteria: * Any endorsed medical concerns related to physical activity (as probed in the phone screening questions regarding cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic disease and as assessed via the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q), which probes into participants' history of heart conditions, chest pain, dizziness, loss of consciousness, bone/joint problems, and medication history). Participants would not be excluded if they report this condition being "controlled" or "addressed" through medication or lifestyle change, such as regular exercise. * Major medical disorders (such as cancer, AIDS) * Psychotic disorders * Intellectual disabilities * Developmental disorders * Active substance use disorders * Pregnancy or probably pregnancy * Body mass index greater than or equal to 35 * Daily cannabis use * History of any cardiac disease * Inability to provide informed consent * Physical disabilities that prohibit task performance (such as deafness or blindness) * Self-reported history of loss of consciousness (greater than 30 minutes)

Locations (1)

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in participant heart rate

Participant heart rate will be measured at baseline and after each imagery trial using a BIOPAC Bionomadix photo plethysmogram.

Time frame: 24 hours (visit 2), 48 hours (visit 3)

Change in participant subjective emotional ratings

Participant anxiety will be measured at baseline and after each imagery trial.

Time frame: 24 hours (visit 2), 48 hours (visit 3)

Change in participant electrodermal response

Participant skin conductance activity will be measured at baseline and during each imagery trial using a pair of BIOPAC Bionomadix electrodermal activity electrodes

Time frame: 24 hours (visit 2), 48 hours (visit 3)

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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