Exercise Effects on Word Learning

NCT ID: NCT03370471

Last Updated: 2021-09-05

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 28 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2016-12-09
• Study Completion Date: 2019-08-16

Brief Summary

The aging Veteran population will substantially increase over the next 10 years, as the 24.9% of Veterans who are currently between 55-64 years of age join the 38.5% who are already over age 65. The risk of stroke more than doubles each decade after age 55, which places Veterans at an ever-increasing risk of suffering stroke-related language impairment (i.e., aphasia). Difficulty retrieving words, which negatively impacts psychosocial well-being and quality of life, is the most common complaint in healthy aging and aphasia. Word retrieval interventions to maintain or restore communicative function are needed. Studies have shown that physical exercise can improve word learning in young adults. This study will investigate the effects of exercise on word learning in aging and aphasia. The results will help the us understand how exercise may be used to optimize word retrieval interventions for our aging Veterans.

Detailed Description

Difficulty retrieving the right word to communicate a message is the most common complaint in healthy older adults and individuals with stroke-induced language impairment (i.e., aphasia). Novel word learning paradigms have been used to investigate a variety of behavioral and neuromodulatory approaches to improve word retrieval deficits. Previous novel word learning studies have shown that physical exercise can improve long term recall in healthy young adults and that increased levels of dopamine may be responsible for this effect; however, no studies have investigated the effects of exercise on novel word learning in older adults and individuals with aphasia, and very little is known about the mechanisms that support exercise-enhanced word learning in these populations.

The aims of this study are to:

1) to identify the novel word learning paradigm that facilitates immediate and long-term word recall 2a) to investigate how acute, moderate-intensity exercise alters levels of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and plasma dopamine 2b) to describe and quantify the association between novel word learning and any observed changes in serum BDNF and plasma dopamine.

This research will provide a platform for future investigations of immediate exercise effects on word learning, which are essential for achieving our long-term goal of developing exercise-based word retrieval interventions for healthy older Veterans and Veterans with aphasia.

A within subjects crossover design will be used to address Aims 1, 2a and 2b. Subjects will complete aerobic exercise or stretching (training) before engaging in Study Only or Retrieval Practice (learning). Subjects will be counterbalanced within and across conditions. Sixteen healthy older adults (65-89 years) and 16 individuals with aphasia (35-89 years), will be recruited. The study will comprise 18 sessions over 12 weeks. In Week 1, subjects will undergo baseline blood draws, a physical assessment, cognitive and language assessments, and a practice word learning task. In Weeks 2-12, subjects will complete the four conditions. Each condition will last two weeks, with a one-week break between conditions. In each condition, training and learning sessions will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Training: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling or gentle upper and lower limb stretching (control) prior to engaging in a novel word learning task. Learning: Familiar objects (e.g., cup) will be paired with nonwords (e.g., flark). In the Study Only paradigm, object/nonword pairs will be presented three times across three days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). In the Retrieval Practice paradigm, object/nonword pairs will be presented during the first session (Monday). In subsequent sessions (Wednesday, Friday), subjects will be asked to recall the nonword name of presented objects. Corrective feedback will be provided on each trial. Testing: Recognition and recall testing without corrective feedback will be administered immediately after learning (short-term memory), before training in the second and third learning session (overnight consolidation) and one week after learning (long-term memory). Blood Draws: Three blood samples will be taken at baseline (rest, 30 minutes, 60 minutes). In each of the four conditions, blood samples will be taking during the first and third learning session (at rest, after training, after learning, and 15 minutes after learning). Whole blood will be collected in plain tubes and in anticoagulant-treated tubes for subsequent serum BDNF and plasma dopamine analysis by ELISA. Samples will be analyzed in triplicate to increase reliability.

Conditions

Aging; Aphasia

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Healthy Older Adults

Participants complete all four interventions

Retrieval Practice + Moderate Intensity Exercise: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Retrieval Practice + Gentle Stretching: Subject will engage in 30 minutes of gentle upper- and lower- limb stretching prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Moderate Intensity Exercise: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Gentle Stretching: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Retrieval Practice + Moderate Intensity Exercise

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Retrieval Practice + Gentle Stretching

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subject will engage in 30 minutes of gentle upper- and lower- limb stretching prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Moderate Intensity Exercise

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Gentle Stretching

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Individuals with Aphasia

Participants complete all four interventions

Retrieval Practice + Moderate Intensity Exercise: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Retrieval Practice + Gentle Stretching: Subject will engage in 30 minutes of gentle upper- and lower- limb stretching prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Moderate Intensity Exercise: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Gentle Stretching: Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Retrieval Practice + Moderate Intensity Exercise

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Retrieval Practice + Gentle Stretching

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subject will engage in 30 minutes of gentle upper- and lower- limb stretching prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Moderate Intensity Exercise

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Study Only + Gentle Stretching

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Interventions

Retrieval Practice + Moderate Intensity Exercise

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Retrieval Practice + Gentle Stretching

Subject will engage in 30 minutes of gentle upper- and lower- limb stretching prior to word learning using Retrieval Practice (active retrieval during learning)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Study Only + Moderate Intensity Exercise

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Study Only + Gentle Stretching

Subjects will engage in 30 minutes of gentle stretching prior to word learning using Study Only (no active retrieval during learning)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• monolingual English speakers
• "low physical activity" on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire
• physician's written approval for participation in moderate-intensity exercise

Exclusion Criteria

• VO2 max >26 (men) and 22 (women)
• inability to cycle for 3 minutes at 50 revolutions/minute with no resistance
• any comorbid condition with exercise contraindications
• use of hormone replacement therapy

• dopaminergic
• anti-depressant
• anti-psychotic
• or illicit drugs
• consumption of >14 alcoholic drinks/week or > 1pack of cigarettes/day
• uncorrected hearing or vision impairments that interfere with study procedures
• inability to read or repeat nonwords (e.g., flark)
• inability to learn one novel word during a practice learning task
• below cut-off on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Comprehensive Aphasia Test Cognitive Screen
• and/or >10 on the Beck Depression Inventory

• Minimum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 89 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Amy D. Rodriguez, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA

Locations

Atlanta VA Medical and Rehab Center, Decatur, GA

Decatur, Georgia, United States

Countries

United States

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

C2238-P

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id