Jolene Jacquart1, Rheall F Roquet2, Santiago Papini1, Mark B Powers3, David Rosenfield4, Jasper A J Smits1, Marie-H Monfils5. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keaton St., Austin, TX, 78712, USA; Institute for Mental Health Research, University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd St. Stop E9000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keaton St., Austin, TX, 78712, USA. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keaton St., Austin, TX, 78712, USA; Institute for Mental Health Research, University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd St. Stop E9000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA; Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Ave, Dallas, TX, 75246, USA. 4. Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, PO Box 750442, Dallas, TX, 75275-0442, USA. 5. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keaton St., Austin, TX, 78712, USA; Institute for Mental Health Research, University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd St. Stop E9000, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. Electronic address: marie.monfils@utexas.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Exposure therapy is an established learning-based intervention for the treatment of anxiety disorders with an average response rate of nearly 50%, leaving room for improvement. Emerging strategies to enhance exposure therapy in humans and fear extinction retention in animal models are primarily pharmacological. These approaches are limited as many patients report preferring non-pharmacological approaches in therapy. With general cognitive enhancement effects, exercise has emerged as a plausible non-pharmacological augmentation strategy. The present study tested the hypothesis that fear extinction and exposure therapy would be enhanced by a pre-training bout of exercise. METHODS: We conducted four experiments with rats that involved a standardized conditioning and extinction paradigm and a manipulation of exercise. In a fifth experiment, we manipulated vigorous-intensity exercise prior to a standardized virtual reality exposure therapy session among adults with fear of heights. RESULTS: In experiments 1-4, exercise did not facilitate fear extinction, long-term memory, or fear relapse tests. In experiment 5, human participants showed an overall reduction in fear of heights but exercise did not enhance symptom improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Although acute exercise prior to fear extinction or exposure therapy, as operationalized in the present 5 studies, did not enhance outcomes, these results must be interpreted within the context of a broader literature that includes positive findings. Taken all together, this suggests that more research is necessary to identify optimal parameters and key individual differences so that exercise can be implemented successfully to treat anxiety disorders.
BACKGROUND: Exposure therapy is an established learning-based intervention for the treatment of anxiety disorders with an average response rate of nearly 50%, leaving room for improvement. Emerging strategies to enhance exposure therapy in humans and fear extinction retention in animal models are primarily pharmacological. These approaches are limited as many patients report preferring non-pharmacological approaches in therapy. With general cognitive enhancement effects, exercise has emerged as a plausible non-pharmacological augmentation strategy. The present study tested the hypothesis that fear extinction and exposure therapy would be enhanced by a pre-training bout of exercise. METHODS: We conducted four experiments with rats that involved a standardized conditioning and extinction paradigm and a manipulation of exercise. In a fifth experiment, we manipulated vigorous-intensity exercise prior to a standardized virtual reality exposure therapy session among adults with fear of heights. RESULTS: In experiments 1-4, exercise did not facilitate fear extinction, long-term memory, or fear relapse tests. In experiment 5, humanparticipants showed an overall reduction in fear of heights but exercise did not enhance symptom improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Although acute exercise prior to fear extinction or exposure therapy, as operationalized in the present 5 studies, did not enhance outcomes, these results must be interpreted within the context of a broader literature that includes positive findings. Taken all together, this suggests that more research is necessary to identify optimal parameters and key individual differences so that exercise can be implemented successfully to treat anxiety disorders.
Authors: Nicolette A Moya; Margaret K Tanner; Abigail M Smith; Aleezah Balolia; Jazmyne K P Davis; Kelsey Bonar; Jennifer Jaime; Troy Hubert; Jorge Silva; William Whitworth; Esteban C Loetz; Sondra T Bland; Benjamin N Greenwood Journal: Neurobiol Learn Mem Date: 2020-10-17 Impact factor: 2.877
Authors: Silje Haukenes Stavestrand; Kristine Sirevåg; Inger Hilde Nordhus; Trond Sjøbø; Trygve Bruun Endal; Hans M Nordahl; Karsten Specht; Åsa Hammar; Anne Halmøy; Egil W Martinsen; Eva Andersson; Helene Hjelmervik; Jan Mohlman; Julian F Thayer; Anders Hovland Journal: Trials Date: 2019-03-18 Impact factor: 2.279