Nature as Medicine for the Healing Brain: Utilization of a Nature-based Exposure Intervention for Decreasing Concussion Recovery Timeline and Symptom Load
Penn State University
Summary
The overall goal of this research is to provide pilot data that informs and drives a larger scale research project, incorporating multiple contemporary measurement modalities, to understand the utility and pathological mechanisms by which exposure to nature-based settings may aid in recovery time and symptom relief of individuals suffering from concussion, and decrease their risk of developing Persistent Post-Concussion Syndrome (PPCS). We hypothesize that successful adherence to a nature-based exposure therapy intervention program will decrease recovery time and severity of symptom trajectory of concussion, as measured through multimodal assessments of brain structural and functional integrity.
Description
This study will use a resting state combined electrophysiological-imaging measure of brain region activation, a blood-based measure of neuroinflammatory protein circulation, and a brief but comprehensive neuropsychological functional assessment to identify recovery status of the brain pre- and post-intervention. Measures will be taken at two pre-determined time intervals following concussion for each participant (1-3 days, 28-30 days) and frame the start and end point of a 4-week nature-based exposure therapy intervention program. The self-administered nature-based exposure therapy interventio…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 14–35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Require that any participant is 14-35 years old 2. Required that any participant under 18 years old can be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for the duration of the study 3. Required that participants be English speakers 4. Required that persons be able to provide consent for themselves 5. Required that the participant must have suffered a clinically diagnoses concussion 5 days or less prior to the first study visit 6. Concussion must have been diagnosed by a licensed clinical medicine professional. 7. No additional professional treatment modalities outside of n…
Interventions
- BehavioralNature-based Guided Awareness Group
Participants in the nature-based guided awareness group will be instructed to perform their intervention prompt in a one of the safe, accessible natural settings provided on the study's Nature-Based Location Guide, 3-7 times per week, for a total duration of 120 minutes per week.
- BehavioralStandard Guided Awareness Group
Participants in the standard guided awareness group will be instructed to perform the prompt in a quiet, controlled indoor environment, 3-7 times per week, for a total duration of 120 minutes per week.
Location
- Recreation BuildingUniversity Park, Pennsylvania