PTSD
Conditions
Keywords
Trauma, Exercise, Mental Health, Aerobic
Brief summary
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).
Detailed description
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.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALActive Control
Behavioral: Low Intensity Exercise Control participants will maintain light-intensity activity (i.e., walking at 40-50% of maximum heart rate) for 30 minutes.
BEHAVIORALExperimental
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.
Sponsors
Thomas Adams
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
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)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in participant heart rate | 24 hours (visit 2), 48 hours (visit 3) | Participant heart rate will be measured at baseline and after each imagery trial using a BIOPAC Bionomadix photo plethysmogram. |
| Change in participant subjective emotional ratings | 24 hours (visit 2), 48 hours (visit 3) | Participant anxiety will be measured at baseline and after each imagery trial. |
| Change in participant electrodermal response | 24 hours (visit 2), 48 hours (visit 3) | Participant skin conductance activity will be measured at baseline and during each imagery trial using a pair of BIOPAC Bionomadix electrodermal activity electrodes |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed