Physical activity moderates the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and approach-avoidance conflict...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Adaptive avoidance is crucial for survival, but maladaptive avoidance can impair reward seeking and mental health.
• Approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) involves balancing reward pursuit against threat avoidance, a bias expected in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• The impact of physical activity (PA) on AAC in trauma-exposed adults, particularly those with PTSD, remains under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interactive effects of PTSD symptom severity and physical activity (PA) on approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) decision-making under threat.
• To determine if PA moderates the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and AAC in trauma-exposed adults.

Main Methods:

• A trauma-related AAC behavioral task was administered to 93 trauma-exposed adults with varying PTSD symptom severity.
• The task comprised 150 trials across congruent and conflict phases, assessing choices between reward and threat avoidance.
• Linear mixed effects models were used to analyze the relationships between PTSD symptom severity, PA volume, and AAC.

Main Results:

• Physical activity (PA) moderated the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and AAC.
• A positive association between PTSD symptom severity and AAC was observed for lower PA volume (greater conflict).
• A negative association between PTSD symptom severity and AAC was found with increased PA volume (less conflict).

Conclusions:

• Higher levels of physical activity (PA) may offer a protective effect against maladaptive avoidance in individuals with PTSD.
• Increased PA may enhance the propensity for goal-directed behavior and reward seeking, even in the presence of threat, for those with higher PTSD symptom severity.