The DOI matches its Crossref record; 121 of the 121 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Exercise Augmentation of Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Rationale and Pilot Efficacy Data
Open accessAbstract
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is associated with synaptic plasticity, which is crucial for long-term learning and memory. Some studies suggest that people suffering from anxiety disorders show reduced BDNF relative to healthy controls. Lower BDNF is associated with impaired learning, cognitive deficits, and poor exposure-based treatment outcomes. A series of studies with rats showed that exercise elevates BDNF and enhances fear extinction. However, this strategy has not been tested in humans. In this pilot study, we randomized participants (N = 9, 8 females, M(Age) = 34) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to (a) prolonged exposure alone (PE) or (b) prolonged exposure+exercise (PE+E). Participants randomized to the PE+E condition completed a 30-minute bout of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise (70% of age-predicted HR(max)) prior to each PE session. Consistent with prediction, the PE+E group showed a greater improvement in PTSD symptoms (d = 2.65) and elevated BDNF (d = 1.08) relative to the PE only condition. This pilot study provides initial support for further investigation into exercise augmented exposure therapy.
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“The results indicated that the group who exercised prior to therapy showed greater improvement in PTSD symptoms relative to the group only participating in therapy.”
From Exercise Intervention in PTSD: A Narrative Review and Rationale for Implementation (2019) · cites this paper as [60]
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“Greater reduction in PTSD sxs”
From Exercise Intervention in PTSD: A Narrative Review and Rationale for Implementation (2019) · cites this paper as [60]
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“One small pilot study did show that acute bouts of exercise after exposure can boost the effect oftherapy 152 .”
From Post‐traumatic stress disorder: a state‐of‐the‐art review of evidence and challenges (2019) · cites this paper as [152]
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Sorted by citations
Stubbs, B., Vancampfort, D., Rosenbaum, S., Firth, J., Cosco, T., Veronese, N., Salum, G. A., & Schuch, F. B. (2017) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.12.020 · Cited by 666
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Metadata
- Authors
- Powers, M. B., Medina, J. L., Burns, S., Kauffman, B. Y., Monfils, M., Asmundson, G. J. G., Diamond, A., McIntyre, C., & Smits, J. A. J.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- University of Regina (CA)
- The University of Texas at Dallas (US)
- Corresponding author
- Powers, Mark B.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-02-23
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 314-327
- ISSN
- 1650-6073 (ISSN-L)
- 1651-2316
- PMC
- PMC4464974
- OpenAlex
- W1987008872
- Cited by
- 194
- References
- 120
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 8
- FWCI
- 19.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01da027533-04)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R15MH099655, R01MH091147)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01-DA027533, F31DA036919, K01DA035930)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, prolonged exposure therapy, physical activity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, fear extinction, treadmill exercise, anxiety disorders, synaptic plasticity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Combined Modality Therapy, Exercise Therapy, Female, Humans, Implosive Therapy, Male, Pilot Projects, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Exercise, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Young Adult
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