The proposed experimental study will be the first to investigate whether exercise vs. sitting enhances consolidation of extinction learning in adults with high AS and anxiety disorders, and the mechanistic pathways of expectancy, affect, and key stress response markers.
This is an experimental study (not a treatment study) aiming to examine the effects of acute exercise vs. sitting on fear extinction learning in a 2-day paradigm. 50 eligible (after screening) men and women ages 18-60 with high anxiety sensitivity (AS) and an anxiety disorder (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder) will participate in a consecutive 2-day paradigm. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 2 conditions immediately following the emotional learning paradigm: 1) moderate intensity exercise (n=25) or 2) sitting(n=25), for 20 minutes. Day 2 will include testing of emotional learning. Primary outcomes are physiological arousal (skin conductance, heart rate) during Day 2 procedures. Mechanistic factors, including expected negative consequences of exercise, affect during exercise, threat/shock expectancy, and changes pre-post exercise in stress related neuroendocrine markers (cortisol and alpha-amylase) and their effects on extinction recall will be measured.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
50
NYU Langone Health
New York, New York, United States
RECRUITINGSkin Conductance Response (SCR)
SCR will be computed for each trial by subtracting the mean skin conductance level observed during the last two seconds of context presentation from the maximal skin conductance level reached during CS presentation. All SCR values will be square-root transformed prior to any statistical analyses. To evaluate extinction recall, an extinction retention index (ERI) will be computed for each individual using the following formula: 100 - (mean SCR to the first 4 CS+E trials during recall / maximum SCR reached during conditioning for this same cue) \* 100
Time frame: Day 2 Visit
Heart rate (HR)
HR will be computed for each trial by collecting Heart rate measurements during the psychophysiological procedures.
Time frame: Day 2 Visit
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