Psychobiological Responses Following Exercise and Brain Stimulation
Virginia Commonwealth University
Summary
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health diagnosis in the US; 19.1% of U.S. adults (23.4% for females and 14.3% for males). In addition, the Global Burden of Disease study (2010) found that anxiety disorders were the sixth leading cause of disability (years of life lived with disability). These debilitating disorders are characterized by excessive worry and fear about everyday situations, and physical symptoms including restlessness, being easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, or sleep disturbance. Furthermore, anxiety is linked to other mental disorders including depression and substance abuse; is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and a higher rate of cardiovascular disease; and is related to premature mortality. These data have led to the investigation of a breadth of plausible treatments for anxiety, including medications and psychotherapy. However, likely due to the breadth of complex mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders and the unfavorable side effects of various medications, a considerable number of individuals do not have a satisfactory response to these treatments. This has led investigators to examine plausible novel interventions to alleviate anxiety and its symptoms.
Description
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive central neuromodulatory technique that is inexpensive and safe, has been utilized to stimulate specific regions of the brain and has demonstrated promising results for alleviating anxiety and depression. (1) evidence supports the administration of anodal stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to excite neuronal activity and cathodal stimulation over the right DLPFC to inhibit activity (a bicephalic tDCS montage with 2 mA of stimulation at the left DLPFC) as the most effective tDCS treatment to alleviate an…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–50 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy adults * aged 18 to 50 * consent and complete a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) * be free from any neurological or psychiatric disorder * not be taking any medication that could affect the central nervous system * not have any contraindication for HD-tDCS (i.e. not having metal implanted in the head, pacemaker, medical bumps, seizures, lesions on the scalp or head ) or for bioelectrical impedance (i.e., electronic medical implant, such as a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and limb amputation) * not be regular users of tobacc…
Interventions
- OtherCycling exercise at 65% of HRR for 20 minutes followed by HD-tDCS (exercise + HD-tDCS)
Subject will complete a Cycling exercise at 65% of HRR for 20 minutes and then a High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that uses small electrodes to deliver weak electric currents to the scale. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) uses weak direct currents of the order of 0.5 mA to 4 mA to modulate cortical activity by exciting or suppressing underlying neurons.
- OtherCycling exercise at 65% of HRR exercise followed by sham HD-tDCS (exercise + sham tDCS)
Subject will complete a Cycling exercise at 65% of HRR for 20 minutes and then a sham High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that uses small electrodes to deliver weak electric currents to the scale. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) uses weak direct currents of the order of 0.5 mA to 4 mA to modulate cortical activity by exciting or suppressing underlying neurons.
- OtherNo exercise followed by HD-tDCS (no exercise + HD-tDCS).
No exercise but a High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that uses small electrodes to deliver weak electric currents to the scale. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) uses weak direct currents of the order of 0.5 mA to 4 mA to modulate cortical activity by exciting or suppressing underlying neurons.
Location
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, Virginia