Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Department, PSYTREC, Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), The Netherlands.
Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Biol Psychol. 2021 Oct;165:108189. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108189. Epub 2021 Sep 11.
Intrusive and distressing memories are at the core of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been linked with improved mental health, emotion regulation, and memory function, CRF may, by promoting these capabilities, protect against the development of intrusions after trauma. We investigated the CRF-intrusion relationship and its potential mediators in 115 healthy individuals, using a trauma film to induce intrusions. As potential mediators, we assessed indices of pre-trauma mental health such as heart rate variability, subjective and psychobiological peri-traumatic responses, and memory. Critically, results showed that higher CRF was related to fewer intrusions, but no mediators emerged for the CRF-intrusion relationship. These results indicate that individuals displaying higher CRF are less prone to develop traumatic memory intrusions. Future studies may want to investigate whether promoting fitness prior to possible trauma exposure can boost resilience against the development of debilitating re-experiencing symptoms of PTSD.
侵入性和痛苦记忆是创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的核心。由于心肺功能健康（CRF）与改善心理健康、情绪调节和记忆功能有关，因此 CRF 可能通过促进这些能力来预防创伤后侵入的发生。我们使用创伤电影诱发侵入来研究 115 名健康个体的 CRF-侵入关系及其潜在的中介因素。作为潜在的中介因素，我们评估了与心理健康有关的指标，如心率变异性、主观和心理生物学创伤前反应以及记忆。至关重要的是，结果表明，更高的 CRF 与更少的侵入有关，但 CRF-侵入关系没有出现中介因素。这些结果表明，表现出更高 CRF 的个体不太容易发展出创伤性记忆侵入。未来的研究可能希望调查在可能的创伤暴露之前促进健身是否可以增强对 PTSD 衰弱再体验症状发展的适应能力。
