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Project

Modulation of pattern separation of emotional information by physical exercise and its relevance to psychopathology

Physical activity is widely known for both its physical and emotional benefits. Research investigating the neurobiological mechanisms has suggested that improvements in hippocampal neurogenesis and concomitant changes in the hippocampal process of ‘pattern separation’ might be an important contributing factor. This process is part of the episodic memory and important in determining whether a real-time event is distinct from the past and should be stored separately. Besides that, literature suggests a possible role of inefficient pattern separation in a wide array of psychiatric disorders. Decreased capacity to distinguish novel non-threatening information from previously stored adverse memories might result in overgeneralisation of fear and increased threat perception.

The Engage study will investigate neurobiological and psychological mechanisms using fMRI, psychological learnings tasks, Virtual Reality and questionnaires. It will focus on the process of pattern separation and whether improvements following exercise may also be observed in individuals with (pre-)clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression and psychosis. Additionally, we will investigate if observed effects are present in the general psychiatric symptomatology or specifically implicated in young adults with childhood trauma. For this study, 150 participants will be recruited and divided into three groups: a group with (pre-)clinical symptoms without childhood trauma, a group with (pre-)clinical symptoms with childhood trauma and a healthy control group. This project will potentially result in important implications for research by illuminating the underlying mechanisms of pattern separation and give positive outlooks on the role of exercise in psychiatric disorders.

Date:15 Feb 2020 →  Today
Keywords:neuroscience, pattern separation, physical exercise
Disciplines:Cognitive neuroscience
Project type:PhD project