Neural Changes of Exercise: a Functional MRI Study

Summary

Stress-related disorders have a profound impact on public health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) found major depressive disorder (MDD) to be one of the most important human health problems with a prevalence of about 10%. In the current proposal the aim is to investigate mechanisms of resilience against stress-related disorders and to examine changes in quality of life, health, brain structure and brain function in individuals performing a "resilience" programme. Therefore, the investigators will recruit forty healthy subjects from the hospital staff exposed to "normal" day-to-day stress and not participating already in a fitness programme. Half of the subjects will be randomised to a cognitive behavioural self-experience and exercise programme for 20 weeks carried out by experienced supervisors, coaches and trainers. Clinical psychological and psychiatric examinations will be carried out weekly and a range of sophisticated neuroimaging techniques - high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) and functional MRI (fMRI) - will be conducted before and after the "resilience" program in order to investigate its effectiveness on brain structure and function. The stress system will also be tested by examining cortisol awaking response (CAR) and daily rhythms of cortisol secretion. These techniques are all well established in our laboratories. The proposed research will likely stimulate the development of new prevention strategies for this common and important disorder, and in the future could be applied to other illnesses. Moreover, when successful it could be patented and offered for implementation in the daily routine of median to large companies.

Conditions

• Aerobic Exercise

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Aerobic Exercise

Each exercise class consisted of a warm-up, an aerobic and a cool-down phase, supervised by a physiotherapist. The warm up and cool down phases consisted of 5-7 minutes of low intensity aerobic exercise, \< 40% Heart Rate Reserve (HHR), to allow the cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal systems to adapt and recover, respectively. The aerobic component initially consisted of 21 minutes at an intensity of 40-59% HRR and was progressed to 42 minutes at 55-75% HRR by week 8 until programme completion. All participants worked at the same intensity and duration at the various time points throughout the study. Continuous, rhythmic exercise using large muscle groups was prescribed using treadmills, cycle ergometers and other aerobic exercise that increased heart rate to its prescribed level.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Dublin, Trinity College

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Thomas Frodl, MD · University of Dublin, Trinity College

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2011-10-31

Primary Completion

2014-10-31

Completion

2015-04-30