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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.
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.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experimental condition 1 | Experimental | Participants allocated to the Experimental condition 1 will be following a aerobic exercise training program. |
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| Experimental condition 2 | Experimental | Participants allocated to the Experimental condition 2 will be following an agility-cognitive exercise training program. |
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| Control condition | Active Comparator | Participants allocated to the Control condition will be following a stretching/relaxation training program. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerobic Exercise | Behavioral | Participants allocated to the Aerobic condition will be following a 4 month-intervention aerobic exercise protocol of 3 weekly interleaved sessions with a 50 minutes duration |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral: alcohol consumption | Number of drinks per binge drinking episode | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Behavioral: binge episodes | Number of binge drinking episodes | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Behavioral : drunkenness | Percentage of drunkenness | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Psychological (craving levels) | 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) | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain structure | Structure-volume in liters | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain structural connectivity- FA | Structural connectivity-fractional anisotropy-scalar value between zero and one within a voxel that describes the degree of anisotropy of a diffusion process | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain structural connectivity - MD | Structural connectivity-mean diffusivity-a scalar measure between zero and one that describes the total diffusion within a voxel | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Monetary Incentive Delay Task (included in the fMRI paradigm) - hits | Accuracy, measured through the number of hits to assess the hypothetical differences in participant's level of achievement between the pretest, posttest and follow-up assessments. | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Monetary Incentive Delay Task (included in the fMRI paradigm) - reaction time |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
50% male, 50% female
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| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sónia Sousa, PhD | Contact | +351917824280 | soniamachado@psi.uminho.pt | |
| Adriana Sampaio, PhD | Contact | adriana.sampaio@psi.uminho.pt |
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sónia Sousa, PhD | Research Center in Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho | Principal Investigator |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D009043 | Motor Activity |
| D063425 | Binge Drinking |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D001519 | Behavior |
| D019973 | Alcohol-Related Disorders |
| D019966 | Substance-Related Disorders |
| D064419 | Chemically-Induced Disorders |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D015444 | Exercise |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D009043 | Motor Activity |
| D009068 | Movement |
| D009142 | Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena |
| D055687 | Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena |
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The protocol includes a randomized controlled trial with a follow-up at three months involving three groups of adolescents (18-24 Y) -experimental group 1, will be enrolled in the Aerobic program, experimental group 2 will be involved in the agility program, and an active control group that will be participating in a stretching program. Participants will be randomly assigned to each group.
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| Agility-Cognitive Exercise | Behavioral | Participants allocated to the Agility-Cognitive condition will be following a 4 month-intervention agility-cognitive exercise protocol of 3 weekly interleaved sessions with a 50 minutes duration |
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| Stretching/relaxation | Behavioral | Participants allocated to the stretching control condition will be following a 4 month-intervention protocol of 1 weekly session with a 50 minutes duration |
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| Brain structural connectivity - AD | Structural connectivity-axial diffusivity-a scalar measure between zero and one within a voxel that describes the magnitude of diffusion parallel to fiber tracts. | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain structural connectivity - RD | Structural connectivity-radial diffusivity-a scalar measure between zero and one within a voxel that describes the magnitude of diffusion parallel to fiber tracts. | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain function | Bold signal for Task-related fMRI | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain function-resting state | Functional connectivity for resting-state fMRI | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
Reaction times, measured as seconds needed to give a response to assess the hypothetical differences in participant's level of achievement between the pretest, posttest and follow-up assessments. |
| Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) | VO2max (ml/kg/min) will be measured in the pretest and posttest evaluations to assess the effects of the physical exercise protocol on cardiovascular fitness. | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) | BDNF (pg/ml) concentrations measured in saliva will be measured in pre-intervention, post-intervention, at the midpoint of the intervention (2 months), and at the follow-up to assess the effects of the physical exercise protocol on neuroplasticity-related molecular markers. | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| Dopamine | Dopamine (pg/ml) concentrations measured in urine will be measured in pre-intervention, post-intervention, at the midpoint of the intervention (2 months), and at the follow-up to assess the effects of the physical exercise protocol on reward-related molecular markers. | Through study completion, an average of 1 year |
| D000428 | Alcohol Drinking |
| D004327 | Drinking Behavior |
| D001523 | Mental Disorders |