Exercise Facilitation of Adolescent Fear Extinction, Frontolimbic Circuitry, and Endocannabinoids
Wayne State University
Summary
Anxiety disorders commonly begin during adolescence, and are characterized by deficits in the ability to inhibit or extinguish pathological fear. Recent research has provided new understanding of how fear is learned and can be regulated in the adolescent brain, and how the endocannabinoid system shapes these processes; however, these advances have not yet translated into improved therapeutic outcomes for adolescents with anxiety. This study will test whether a behavioral intervention, acute exercise, can help to improve fear regulation by enhancing brain activity and endocannabinoid signaling. This line of research may ultimately lead to more effect treatments for adolescent anxiety, and to new preventive strategies for at-risk youth.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 14–17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and available for the duration of the study 3. 14-17 years of age upon enrollment 4. Right-handed 5. In good general health as evidenced by medical history 6. Adolescent and parent/guardian are English-speaking, as study assessments are in English 7. Availability of a parent or legal guardian who is willing to provide consent and attend all study visits Exclusion Criteria: 1. Traumatic brain injury with ongoing symptoms 2. Sensory (e.g., hearing) or physical (…
Interventions
- BehavioralModerate Intensity Exercise
Participants randomized to the active (moderate intensity) exercise condition will complete a 3-minute warm-up at low speed on a treadmill. Speed and incline will be increased in 3-minute increments until moderate-intensity exercise, defined as participants staying within a zone of 60-80% AAMHR with the target being to attain and maintain 70-75% AAMHR while briskly walking and/or jogging depending on current fitness status, is reached for a total of 30 min.
Location
- Tolan Park Medical BuildingDetroit, Michigan