NCT05203731

Level of Physical Activity and Fear Learning

The Role of Exercise in the Consolidation of Fear Extinction Learning in Adults With High Anxiety Sensitivity

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 54 (actual)
• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The proposed experimental study will be the first to investigate whether exercise vs. sitting enhances consolidation of extinction learning in adults with high AS and anxiety disorders, and the mechanistic pathways of expectancy, affect, and key stress response markers.

Detailed description

This is an experimental study (not a treatment study) aiming to examine the effects of acute exercise vs. sitting on fear extinction learning in a 2-day paradigm. 50 eligible (after screening) men and women ages 18-60 with high anxiety sensitivity (AS) and an anxiety disorder (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder) will participate in a consecutive 2-day paradigm. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 2 conditions immediately following the emotional learning paradigm: 1) moderate intensity exercise (n=25) or 2) sitting(n=25), for 20 minutes. Day 2 will include testing of emotional learning. Primary outcomes are physiological arousal (skin conductance, heart rate) during Day 2 procedures. Mechanistic factors, including expected negative consequences of exercise, affect during exercise, threat/shock expectancy, and changes pre-post exercise in stress related neuroendocrine markers (cortisol and alpha-amylase) and their effects on extinction recall will be measured.

Conditions

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Panic Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Exercise	Moderate intensity exercise (typically a brisk walk or light run) will occur for 20 minutes after the emotional learning procedures on Day 1.
BEHAVIORAL	Sitting	Sitting will occur for 20 minutes after the emotional learning procedures on Day 1.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-01-31
• Primary completion: 2025-03-19
• Completion: 2025-03-19
• First posted: 2022-01-24
• Last updated: 2026-02-27

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States