Can Exercise Rewire the Brain Addiction Circuitry? A Randomized Trial of Exercise and Binge Drinking
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Sponsor
- University of Minho
- Enrollment
- 60
- Primary Endpoint
- Behavioral: binge episodes
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The aim of the present study is to apply neuroimaging techniques to investigate how physical exercise may influence the addiction circuitry, ultimately reducing alcohol consumption and craving in youth binge drinkers. This proposal will advance knowledge on how exercise may modulate the neurocircuitry of addiction. Uncovering the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the interactive neural effects of exercise and alcohol intake may provide additional scientific insights for the development of preventive and intervention programs for youth BD and AUD.
Detailed Description
The proposed research plan focuses on the identification of changes in the structural and functional brain parameters (e.g. volume, brain activity), in response to a physical exercise (PE) protocol, on the neurocircuitry of addiction, after a 4 month-intervention program in college binge drinkers (BDs). The main objectives of this proposal are: O1) to evaluate the potential benefits of PE on the brain structure and function, particularly in the neurocircuitry of addiction, in a sample of Portuguese college students with a binge drinking pattern of alcohol use; and O2) to determine whether the PE intervention reduces craving and alcohol consumption levels in BDs. The present project will involve: i) a pre-intervention comprehensive evaluation of behavioral (alcohol consumption), psychological (craving levels), physiological (VO2, HRV), and neurological (neuroimaging) variables; ii) a training phase consisting of 48 sessions (3 weekly sessions*16 weeks) of aerobic (exp group 1), agility-cognitive (exp group 2) exercise and stretching (control group; iii) a post-intervention evaluation of behavioral, physiological, and neurological (neuroimaging) variables; iv) and a 6 months' follow- up evaluation of behavioral, physiologicaln and cognitive variables. A randomized controlled trial will be implemented at the University of Minho. It will include a total of 60 college students with a binge drinking pattern of alcohol intake, 20 participants per condition.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 24 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •binge drinking > or = 5 ; > or =4 for women alcoholic drinks
- •in the same time window (±2h)
- •at least once per month
- •<150 minutes of physical activity per week
Exclusion Criteria
- •Major and/or unstable medical conditions
- •Physical limitations that may constraint the practice of exercise
- •Cardiovascular and respiratory insufficiency
- •History of traumatic brain injury or neurological disorder
- •Non-corrected sensory deficits
- •Personal history of psychopathological disorders
- •Family history of alcoholism or substance abuse in first degree relatives
- •Consumption of medical drugs with psychoactive effects (e.g., sedatives or anxiolytics) during the month previous to the assessment
- •Use of illegal drugs and AUDIT scores >20
- •MRI contraindications
- •Current or previous (past year) participation in a physical exercise program
Arms & Interventions
Control condition
Participants allocated to the Control condition will be following a stretching/relaxation training program.
Intervention: Stretching/relaxation (Behavioral)
Experimental condition 1
Participants allocated to the Experimental condition 1 will be following a aerobic exercise training program.
Intervention: Aerobic Exercise (Behavioral)
Experimental condition 2
Participants allocated to the Experimental condition 2 will be following an agility-cognitive exercise training program.
Intervention: Agility-Cognitive Exercise (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Behavioral: binge episodes
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Number of binge drinking episodes
Psychological (craving levels)
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Scores in the Alcohol Craving Questionnaire (The cutoff points for total scale points are: 12-17 = minimal desire, 18-25 = mild, 26-42 = moderate and 43 or more = severe)
Brain structural connectivity - MD
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Structural connectivity-mean diffusivity-a scalar measure between zero and one that describes the total diffusion within a voxel
Brain structural connectivity - RD
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Structural connectivity-radial diffusivity-a scalar measure between zero and one within a voxel that describes the magnitude of diffusion parallel to fiber tracts.
Behavioral : drunkenness
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Percentage of drunkenness
Brain structure
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Structure-volume in liters
Brain structural connectivity - AD
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Structural connectivity-axial diffusivity-a scalar measure between zero and one within a voxel that describes the magnitude of diffusion parallel to fiber tracts.
Brain function-resting state
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Functional connectivity for resting-state fMRI
Brain structural connectivity- FA
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Structural connectivity-fractional anisotropy-scalar value between zero and one within a voxel that describes the degree of anisotropy of a diffusion process
Behavioral: alcohol consumption
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Number of drinks per binge drinking episode
Brain function
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Bold signal for Task-related fMRI
Secondary Outcomes
- Monetary Incentive Delay Task (included in the fMRI paradigm) - reaction time(Through study completion, an average of 1 year)
- Monetary Incentive Delay Task (included in the fMRI paradigm) - hits(Through study completion, an average of 1 year)
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)(Through study completion, an average of 1 year)
- Dopamine(Through study completion, an average of 1 year)
- Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max)(Through study completion, an average of 1 year)
Investigators
Sonia Sousa
Principal Investigator
University of Minho