The role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the link between physical activity and psychosocial recovery from alcohol use disorder

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

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Abstract

Project Summary The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Strategic Plan for Research: 2017-2021 includes, as a new objective, the identification of factors that may facilitate or inhibit recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD). Similarly, the 2016 U.S. Surgeon General's report on alcohol, drugs and health highlights a need to invest more resources toward expanding the scientific evidence base for recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders. Though recovery may most accurately be conceptualized as an ongoing process, few studies have investigated the physical, psychological and sociological elements likely to form the constellation of attributes underpinning this process. One relatively understudied area in recovery research is the degree to which physical activity may have direct and indirect impacts on wellness, behavior change, and self-direction. There is a small literature around the efficacy of adding physical exercise as an adjunct to acute treatment. Reviews of these efforts provide preliminary support for the efficacy of exercise as an adjunct to traditional substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, but little is known about the potential mechanisms by which this may occur, and the degree to which individuals in early recovery may engage in physical exercise outside the strict provisions set by treatment studies. A promising mechanism proposed to explain these efficacy outcomes is the role exercise has in stimulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is a protein critically implicated in neuroplasticity and the sustenance of new neural connections. This in turn may promote changes in the neural pathways associated with addictive behavior, altered responses to cue-related craving, and learned acquisition of coping and other behavioral skills. Although the conceptual basis for this mechanism has been tested and demonstrated in animal models, no studies to date have directly tested the associations between physical exercise, BDNF, and SUD recovery in humans. To address this gap in the recovery research literature, the overarching goal of the proposed study is to investigate the relationship between physical exercise, changes in BDNF, and alcohol-related outcomes, including consumption, craving, coping skills and mood, in a population of individuals in early recovery from AUD. To accomplish this goal, the study will employ a two group quasi-experimental observational design, looking specifically at a low-to-moderate exercising group from one local community recovery agency versus a high-intensity exercising group at a similar local community recovery agency. Participants in these groups will be tracked over the course of the three month study, completing weekly logs of exercise frequency, duration, and intensity, and completing assessment batteries and BDNF blood serum testing at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks.