Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39375728›Full record

ArticleTrials2024

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial: exercise-priming of CBT for depression (the CBT+ trial).

Jacob D Meyer, Shania J E Kelly, John M Gidley, Jeni E Lansing, Seana L Smith, Sydney L Churchill, Emily B K Thomas, Simon B Goldberg, Heather C Abercrombie, Thomas A Murray and 1 more

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT06001346 nacompletednot on this map

ActiveCBT for Depression: Transforming Treatment Through Exercise Priming

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Wisconsin, MadisonRan2023 to 2025Enrolled40ConditionsMajor Depressive DisorderArmsActiveCBT, CalmCBT
NCT07221929 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Exercise-priming of CBT for Depression: the CBT+ Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of Wisconsin, MadisonRan2026 to 2029Enrolled100ConditionsMajor Depressive DisorderArmsRest, Aerobic Activity
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. 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

11 authors.

Jacob D MeyerDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA. jdmeyer3@wisc.edu.
Shania J E KellyDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
John M GidleyDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Jeni E LansingDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Seana L SmithDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Sydney L ChurchillDepartment of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Emily B K ThomasDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Simon B GoldbergDepartment of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
Heather C AbercrombieCenter for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
Thomas A MurrayDivision of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Nathaniel G WadeDepartment of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.

Funding

ActiveCBT for depression: Transforming treatment through exercise primingR61MH129407 · NIMH · IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY · PI MEYER, JACOB D · 2023 to 2024
$1.5M
Mindfulness training delivered via mobile health to reduce depression and anxietyK23AT010879 · NCCIH · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI GOLDBERG, SIMON B · 2020 to 2024
$786k
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and treatments could be more effective. Identifying methods to improve treatment success has the potential to reduce disease burden dramatically. Preparing or "priming" someone to respond more effectively to psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT]) by preceding sessions with aerobic exercise, a powerful neurobiological activator, could enhance the success of the subsequently performed therapy. However, the success of this priming approach for increasing engagement of working mechanisms of psychotherapy (e.g., increased working alliance and behavioral activation) has yet to be formally tested.

methodsThe CBT + trial will be a parallel-arm randomized controlled trial that will recruit 40 adult participants with DSM-5 diagnosed depression (verified with clinical interview) via referrals, mass emails, local flyers, and social media posts. Participants will be randomized to an ActiveCBT or CalmCBT condition. The ActiveCBT group will receive an 8-week CBT intervention primed with 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (cycling on a stationary bike at a 13 rating of perceived exertion). The CalmCBT group will receive the same 8-week CBT intervention while resting for 30 min before CBT (i.e., cycling vs no cycling is the only difference). The primary outcome measures will be mean working alliance (assessed with the client version of the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised) and mean behavioral activation (self-reported Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale) recorded at each of the 8 therapy sessions. Secondary outcomes include evaluation of state anhedonia and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor before the active/calm conditions, between the condition and therapy, and after the therapy. Additional exploratory analyses will evaluate group differences in algorithm-generated ratings of therapist-participant interactions via the Lyssn platform. DISCUSSION: The novel approach of priming CBT with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (CBT + trial) has the potential to demonstrate the usefulness of exercise as an augmentation strategy that improves working mechanisms of therapy and overall treatment outcomes for adults with depression.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT06001346 . Registered on August 21, 2023.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressionRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAdultBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorExerciseExercise TherapyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorAntidepressant mechanismsBehavioral activationCognitive behavioral therapyExerciseExercise primingMajor depressive disorderNature interactionProcess mechanismsPsychosocial treatmentTreatment augmentation

Identifiers

PMID39375728
PMCPMC11460085

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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.