The Influence of Aerobic Exercise on Consolidation of Fear Extinction Learning in PTSD

Who can take part

• male or female sex
• right-handed
• age 18-64
• a current diagnosis of PTSD where the index event involves interpersonal violence exposure (e.g., physical/sexual assault)
• male or female sex
• right-handed
• age 18-64
• interpersonal violence exposure (e.g., physical/sexual assault)

Who cannot take part

• medications that effect neurovascular properties upon which BOLD fMRI capitalizes (e.g., water pills)
• MRI contraindication (e.g., internal ferromagnetic objects such as electronic devices, surgical implants, shrapnel; see phone screen)
• cochlear implant
• current substance use disorder (other than alcohol, nicotine, or cannabis)
• history of bipolar/psychotic disorder
• changes to or addition of psychiatric medication in the past 4 weeks (6 weeks for fluoxetine)
• history of neurological disorders or disease (e.g., traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, seizures)
• developmental disorders
• having a history of chest pain during physical activity
• having a bone, joint, cardiac, or other medical condition that a doctor has said may be worsened by physical activity
• Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or acute myocardial infarction in the last 6 weeks
• unstable arrhythmias/implanted cardiac defibrillator shocks in the last 3 months
• any other condition that the PI believes might put the participant at risk
• Additionally, due to their effects on image quality, interested individuals with the following may be ineligible to participate per PI's judgement: nonremovable dental implants (e.g., braces or upper permanent retainers) as these will distort the MRI images we collect (note: filings, crowns, and silver or gold teeth are okay); any other condition, medication, or implant that the PI believes would degrade image quality or render data unusable
• acute suicidality
• loss of consciousness > 10 minutes
• intellectual disabilities (IQ<70)
• claustrophobia or the inability to lie still in a confined space
• physical disabilities that prohibit task performance (e.g., blindness or deafness)
• positive pregnancy test
• an implanted neurostimulator
• physical disabilities that prohibit task performance (e.g., blindness or deafness)
• vulnerable populations (i.e., pregnant women, individuals appearing to lack consent capacity, prisoners, individuals unable to read consent materials, individuals in a relationship with study researchers (e.g., friends, family members, significant others)
• having asthma
• responding 'Yes' to any of the seven questions on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q - administered as part of the Exercise Safety Questions of the phone screen), indicating it is unsafe for the individual to engage in aerobic exercise without physician approval (i.e., potential participant would be eligible to participate if they indicated 'Yes' to one or more of the PAR-Q items provided they obtain a doctor's note indicating it is safe for them to participate in the study)