Funny Channels in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Abstract
When a sedentary individual takes up an endurance sport intensely, they note that their heart rate falls and they continue participating in the sport because the exertion is accompanied by an increasing sense of pleasure and decreased anxiety, and they often become more tolerant of pain, and they more frequently play through injuries. Because of these effects of the participation in sport, many clinicians believe that engaging in regular, exertional exercise can offer a therapeutic advantage in men and women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have increased anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and chronic pain. Scientists studying the cardiovascular effect of exercise knew the reduced heart rate in exercise trained individuals was due, in part, to a reduction in the secretion of stress hormones such as adrenaline. However, it was unknown how this stress hormone actually increases heart rate. Recently, investigators have discovered "funny channels," so named because of their unusual characteristics, which control the flow of electric current in the heart. More importantly, exercise influences the dynamic expression of these channels in the heart. Similar funny channels have been found in areas of the brain that control memory, response to pain, and anxiety. In this Discovery Award application, the investigators propose that exercise similarly affects funny channels in the brain much in the way that exercise affects the funny channels of the heart. If this research proves this to be true, it can be suggested that selectively targeting the funny channels in the brain may offer a much improved way to prevent or treat men and women with PTSD with medications that are less expensive, have less side effects, and are not addictive.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 07, 2017
- Source ID
- W81XWH1710164
Entities
People
- Warren Lockette
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Missouri