The Influence of Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Functioning in Schizophrenia

描述(申请人提供)：精神分裂症的人口发病率为1%，但它是全球第九大致残原因。精神分裂症患者表现出广泛的认知缺陷，这些缺陷已被确定为日常功能不良和残疾的主要决定因素，因此是一个严重的公共卫生问题。目前的药理学和认知补救治疗在改善这些缺陷方面提供的疗效有限。然而，来自动物和人类研究的数据有力地支持了有氧运动(AE)对认知功能的积极影响。由于精神分裂症患者通常表现出认知缺陷和高度久坐的生活方式，初步证据表明，AE训练在提高这一人群的有氧适应能力方面是可行和有效的，因此有理由假设AE也可以改善认知功能。然而，这种联系在精神分裂症中几乎没有被研究过。为了阐明这一假定的联系，我们建议使用单盲随机临床试验来评估AE对精神分裂症患者认知功能的影响。在纽约市一家大型学术医疗中心接受治疗的48名精神分裂症门诊患者将被随机分配到有氧运动(AE)训练或照常治疗(TAU)。AE培训的参与者将在医疗中心接受为期12周、每周3次、1小时的AE培训。所有患者都将接受适当的药物和咨询治疗。对神经认知和日常功能能力的评估，以及症状严重程度，以及有氧健身的生理和行为测量，将由不考虑治疗状态的评分员在为期12周的计划之前和之后完成。这项研究将能够确定AE对精神分裂症患者的认知和日常功能的推定积极影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Schizophrenia has a population incidence of 1%, but it is the 9th leading cause of disability worldwide. Individuals with schizophrenia display a broad range of cognitive deficits that have been identified as major determinants of poor daily functioning and disability, thus representing a serious public health concern. Current pharmacological and cognitive remediation treatments offer limited to modest efficacy in improving these deficits. However, data from animal and human research strongly support the positive influence of Aerobic Exercise (AE) on cognitive functioning. As individuals with schizophrenia typically display cognitive deficits along with a highly sedentary lifestyle, and preliminary evidence suggest that AE training is both feasible and effective in increasing aerobic fitness in this population, it is reasonable to hypothesize that AE may also improve cognitive functioning. However, this association has hardly been investigated in schizophrenia. To elucidate this putative link, we propose to evaluate the influence of AE on cognitive functioning in schizophrenia using a single-blind, randomized clinical trial. Outpatient individuals with schizophrenia (n=48) receiving treatment at a large academic medical center in New York City will be randomly assigned to Aerobic Exercise (AE) training or Treatment As Usual (TAU). Participants in the AE training will undergo a 12-week, 3 times per week, 1-hour AE sessions at the medical center. All patients will receive appropriate pharmacological and counseling treatment. Assessments of neurocognitive and daily functioning abilities, along with symptom severity, and physiological and behavioral measures of aerobic fitness will be completed before and after the 12-week program by raters blind to treatment status. This study will allow determining the putative positive influence of AE on cognitive and daily functioning in individuals with schizophrenia.