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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05643716

The Effects of Exercise on Emotion Regulation and Cognitive Control in PTSD

The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of a single bout of aerobic exercise on neurophysiological indices of emotion regulation and cognitive control in individuals with clinically significant PTSD symptoms. In this proposed study, 65 adult females with clinically significant PTSD symptoms will be randomized into two groups: a 20-minute moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise group, or a 20-minute silent sitting control group. Prior to and following the exercise/sitting session, participants will complete a letter flanker task and an emotion regulation picture viewing task while their electrical brain activity is continuously recorded via electroencephalogram (EEG). Utilizing a multimodal assessment approach, cognitive control will be measured using behavioral (i.e., accuracy, reaction time) and neurophysiology (i.e., P300, error-related negativity; ERN). Emotion regulation will be measured using self-reported and neurophysiological indices of emotional reactivity (i.e., late positive potential; LPP).

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Key information

Conditions

Emotion Regulation Behavior Cognitive Control Emotional Regulation Mental Disorders Motor Activity PTSD Self-Control Social Behavior Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Age range

18 year–45 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan, 48823, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Female Adults who are currently experiencing clinically significant PTSD symptoms. Participants will be screened via Qualtrics using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5; Weathers et al., 2013). The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-administered questionnaire designed to screen for PTSD. The PCL-5 asks about the frequency of PTSD symptoms experienced in the past month using a 5-point Likert scale. Participants with a total score > 30 on the PCL-5 will be eligible to participate.

Exclusion criteria

  • Using the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q; Adams, 1999), participants will be excluded if they endorse any history of cardiovascular (e.g., Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Failure, High Blood Pressure) or metabolic disease (e.g., Diabetes), or any orthopedic limitations (e.g., Osteoporosis) that may interfere with participating in aerobic exercise.
  • Additionally, participants must not have a history of head trauma resulting in loss of consciousness for more than 5 min, epilepsy, or hearing, visual, or other physical or mental impairments that could interfere with the collection of quality neurocognitive data.

Treatment and study plan

Aerobic Exercise

Behavioral

The aerobic exercise intervention is described in the Aerobic Exercise Arm description.

Primary outcomes

  1. Emotion Regulation (Late Positive Potential)

    Time frame: Immediately after Exercise or Sitting

    Participants will be presented with a series of negative high arousing and neutral low-arousing images from the International Affective Picture System. Prior to being presented with each image, participants will be cued to either passively view the upcoming image or to use reappraisal to "reinterpret aspects of the upcoming image in order to adopt a more neutral or positive perspective." During the emotion regulation task, "online" emotional arousal during reappraisal and passive view trials will be measured via the late positive potential (LPP).

    The LPP is a positive deflecting waveform that has been shown to be activated when viewing highly arousing negative images. In this study, emotion regulation will be measured as the difference in LPP amplitude between reappraise-negative and view-negative trials. Greater view-negative minus reappraise-negative LPP difference scores will reflect greater emotion regulation.

  2. Emotion Regulation (Self-Reported)

    Time frame: Immediately after Exercise or Sitting

    Participants will be presented with a series of negative high arousing and neutral low-arousing images from the International Affective Picture System. Prior to being presented with each image, participants will be cued to either passively view the upcoming image or to use reappraisal to "reinterpret aspects of the upcoming image in order to adopt a more neutral or positive perspective."

    At the end of the emotion regulation picture viewing task, participants will be asked to rate their emotional arousal during reappraisal and passive view using a 1 (Very Weak) to 7 (Very Strong) Likert scale. Self-reported emotional arousal will be measured as the difference in emotional arousal scores between reappraise-negative and view-negative trials. Greater view-negative minus reappraise-negative trials will reflect greater self-reported emotion regulation.

  3. Cognitive Control (Error-Related Negativity, Error Positivity, P300)

    Time frame: Immediately after Exercise or Sitting

    The letter flanker task consists of a series of five letters presented in rapid succession. Participants will be instructed to identify the centrally presented letter amid congruent ('UUUUU') and incongruent ('UUVUU') flanking letters via a button click. The letter flanker task consists of 480 trials grouped into six blocks of 80 trials. Each block consists of a different pair of perceptually similar letters (i.e., "MMNMM", "PPRPP").

    Neurophysiological indices of cognitive control during the flanker task will be measured using error-related negativity (ERN), error positivity (Pe), and P300. The ERN, Pe, and P300 are common metrics of cognitive control. The ERN, Pe, and P300 will be measured as the difference in amplitude between error and correct trials. Greater error minus correct difference scores will reflect greater cognitive control.

  4. Cognitive Control (Response accuracy)

    Time frame: Immediately after Exercise or Sitting

    The letter flanker task consists of a series of five letters presented in rapid succession. Participants will be instructed to identify the centrally presented letter amid congruent ('UUUUU') and incongruent ('UUVUU') flanking letters via a button click. The letter flanker task consists of 480 trials grouped into six blocks of 80 trials. Each block consists of a different pair of perceptually similar letters (i.e., "MMNMM", "PPRPP").

    Response accuracy will be measured as the percent of trials the participant responded correctly [(correct trials / total trials) x 100%]. Greater percentages will reflect greater response accuracy.

  5. Cognitive Control (Reaction Time)

    Time frame: Immediately after Exercise or Sitting

    The letter flanker task consists of a series of five letters presented in rapid succession. Participants will be instructed to identify the centrally presented letter amid congruent ('UUUUU') and incongruent ('UUVUU') flanking letters via a button click. The letter flanker task consists of 480 trials grouped into six blocks of 80 trials. Each block consists of a different pair of perceptually similar letters (i.e., "MMNMM", "PPRPP").

    Reaction Time will be measured as the average response time on each trial in milliseconds (ms). Reaction time will be calculated for all trails, correct trials, and error trials. Greater values will reflect slower reaction times.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Michigan State University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

The Effects of a Single Bout of Aerobic Exercise on Emotion Regulation and Cognitive Control in Individuals With Clinically Significant Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Dec 9, 2022
Registry last updated
Sep 18, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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