Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36527955›Full record

Trial reportSchizophrenia research2023

A combined exercise and cognitive training intervention induces fronto-cingulate cortical plasticity in first-episode psychosis patients.

S C McEwen, B Jarrahi, J Ventura, K L Subotnik, J Nguyen, S M Woo, K H Nuechterlein

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Schizophrenia research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Combined exercise training to improve gait in older stroke patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

S C McEwenPacific Brain Health Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Santa Monica, CA, 90404, United States of America; atai Life Sciences, San Diego, CA, 92130, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America.
B JarrahiDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America; Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States of America.
J VenturaDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America.
K L SubotnikDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America.
J NguyenDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America.
S M WooGraduate School of Education & Psychology, Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA 90045, United States of America.
K H NuechterleinDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America; Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America. Electronic address: keithn@ucla.edu.
University of California, Los Angeles · USPacific Heart Institute · USPepperdine University · USStanford University · US

Funding

STRESS AND EMOTIONAL REACTIVITYP50MH066286 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI NUECHTERLEIN, KEITH H · 2003 to 2014
$18.6M
Enhancing Cognitive Training Through Exercise Following a First Schizophrenia EpisodeR01MH110544 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI NUECHTERLEIN, KEITH H · 2016 to 2022
$7.3M
Biological Mechanisms of Enhanced Neuroplasticity in First-Episode SchizophreniaK01MH099431 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI MCEWEN, SARAH CHRISTINE · 2012 to 2016
$829k
Enhancing Cognitive Training through Exercise after a First Schizophrenia EpisodeR34MH102529 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI NUECHTERLEIN, KEITH H · 2014 to 2015
$781k
NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH099431NIMH NIH HHS P50 MH066286NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH110544NIMH NIH HHS R34 MH102529
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveSchizophrenia (SZ) is characterized by neurobiological and associated cognitive and functional deficits, including pronounced cortical thinning, that lead to acute and long-term functional impairment. Research with older adults supports the role of non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercise (E) and cognitive training (CT), for cognitive impairments. This literature influenced the development of combined CT&E treatments for individuals with SZ. However, the impact of longer combined treatment duration (6 months) on neuroanatomy has yet to be explored in patients in the early course of the illness. The impact of adding exercise to cognitive training for key brain regions associated with higher-order cognition was examined here using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients.

methodsUCLA Aftercare Research Program patients with a recent first episode of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to either combined cognitive and exercise training (CT&E) (N = 20) or cognitive training alone (CT) (N = 17) intervention. Cortical thickness was measured longitudinally and analyzed for two regions of interest using FreeSurfer.

resultsCompared to patients in the CT group, those in the CT&E group demonstrated an increase in cortical thickness within the left anterior cingulate cortex over the six-month treatment period (ACC: F

conclusionsThese findings suggest that exercise and cognitive training may synergistically increase fronto-cingulate cortical thickness to mitigate progressive neural atrophy in the early course of SZ. This combined intervention appears to be a valuable adjunct to standard pharmacologic treatment in FEP patients.

Indexed as

Psychotic DisordersSchizophreniaAgedCognitive TrainingExerciseGyrus CinguliHumansMagnetic Resonance Imaging

Identifiers

PMID36527955
PMCPMC11245316
OpenAlexW4311771203

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.