PE 357 Research Proposal

1. PE 357Research Proposal Erica, Brianna, and Kyle

2. Exercise Dependence • Preoccupation with exercise which has become stereotypes and routine • Emotional and physical withdrawal symptoms • Physical, social, and occupational distress and impairment • No other explanation to account for the preoccupation (e.g. an eating disorder).

3. Problem Statement • Behavioral addictions often go undiagnosed and untreated, as they are still not fully recognized as serious disorders that require treatment • Exercise addiction, while rare, is detrimental to the lives of those suffering from it; recognition of this disorder as an addicted state is necessary for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

4. Significance • This research hopes to further exemplify the similarities between exercise dependence and substance abuse. • By demonstrating and supporting these similarities, the researchers hope to build more support for exercise dependence being included in the new DSM-V which would result in there being more support and interventions for those suffering from this condition.

5. Scope of Study (Delimitations) • Three subject groups of 20 participants of equal gender representation, between the ages 20-55. • Exercise Addicted Ultramarathoners • Non-Exercise Addicted Ultramarathoners • Sedentary Adults

6. Scope of Study (Delimitations) • EEG reward processing task • Looking for presence or absence of ERP in the anterocentral region of the brain during the presence or absence of a reward stimuli

7. Scope of Study (Delimitations) • EAI (Exercise Addiction Index) • Six statement inventory based on components of behavioral addiction. • Gives a score that can be used as a measure of risk for exercise dependence.

8. Scope of Study (Delimitations) • Addiction Severity Index • Multidimensional questionnaire. • Good internal conistency, validity. • Used to both verify substance abuse group and to screen Ultramarathoner groups for substance abuse.

9. Limitations • Sex Bias - May have difficulty balancing genders which could result in biased results • Self Reporting • Dependent on perception, encoding, storage, and retrieval about previous physical activity. • Social desirability. • Over or under reporting of physical activity

10. Limitations • Sampling Problems • Possibility of not having enough exercise addicted subjects • Not random • Very specific subject group • Generalizability • Small number of participants • Extraneous Variables • Presence of eating disorders (primary?)

11. Limitations • Use of EEG • Records general activity for a region below the scalp • Unable to record exact neurons or locations

12. Assumptions

13. Assumptions • The EAI is an appropriate and reliable instrument for identifying athletes at risk for an exercise addiction. • The participants honestly and correctly completed all written instruments • The participants were honest when asked to record any eating disorders or herbal/substance use during training

14. Assumptions • The participants were honest when asked about substance abuse problems • The participants paid attention during the EEG task • The dopamine system is involved in the processing of the reward/ non-reward stimuli during the EEG task

15. Assumptions • The dopamine system processes rewards abnormally in addicts • Exercise addiction shows similar dependence and withdrawal symptoms as substance addiction • “Specific cognitive processes are manifested in specific and invariant patterns of neural activity.” (Otten and Rugg, 2004)

16. Hypotheses • “Exercise addiction, as defined by the EAI, will show the same neurological reaction to a reward processing task as those identified as substance addicted.”

17. Literature Review

18. Literature Review Addiction • The persistent use of a substance despite known negative consequences • Addicts exhibit both dependence and withdrawal • Both reinforcement and neuroadaptations contribute to the addiction process

19. Literature Review Addiction • Reinforcement • Process by which a stimulus increases the probability of a certain response • Underpinned by an innate learning process • Neuroadapatations • Processes by which the effect of the behavior is either enhanced or desensitized in the brain

20. Literature Review Addiction • Reinforcement • occurs during the initial pleasure from engaging in the behavior increasing the likelihood of seeking that behavior again • Withdrawal symptoms reinforce addiction during addiction maintenance • Neuroadaptation • During maintenance of addiction, neuroadaptation has occurred which desensitizes the individual to the stimulus causing tolerance and withdrawal symptoms

21. Literature Review Addiction • Depends on the ability of a substance to increase dopamine presence in the synaptic connections between the midbrain ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens • Substances can act to increase dopamine release, inhibit its degradation, bock re-uptake, or alter other synaptic inputs

22. Literature Review Exercise Addiction • Characteristics of Exercise Addicts • In a study by Basson (2001), it was seen that addicted runners tended to: • Have a generally rigid, inflexible personality pattern as well as an association with having interpersonal difficulties

23. Literature Review Exercise Addiction • Both psychological and physical dependence • If deprived of exercise they experience: • Psychological stress and anxiety, irritability, depression, and tension, stomach aches, nausea, shaking, insomnia, headaches

24. Literature Review Exercise Addiction • The nucleus accumbens is also directly stimulated by opioid substances • Particular interest in exercise addiction as exercise releases endorhins, an opioid

25. Literature Review

26. Procedures • Participant recruitment • Meet at Ultramarathon event and survey. • Select up to 20 “addicted” athletes and 20 “non-addicted” athletes between the ages 20 and 55 using a random number generator while controlling for equal gender representation.

27. Procedures Cont’d • Participant Recruitment Cont’d • Recruit group of 20 adults of equal gender representation between the ages 20 and 55 at a public venue (food court) • Screen for substance and behavioral addictions

28. Procedures • Surface electroencepholography (EEG) • Records changes in electrical charge as seen from the scalp • Measures changes in activity in reference to its location and timing

29. Procedures EEG • Completed in Brain and Cognition lab • Recorded using 64 channel Quick Amp amplifiers • Brain Vision Software • Matlab task design • Abralyt2000 electrode gel • Ag/AgCl electrodes

30. Procedures EEG Task • Participant is faced with decision to turn right or left in virtual maze • After decision of turn they are represented with either an apple or an orange • Orange = 5 cent reward • Apple = no reward

31. Procedures Cont’d Data is analyzed • Using Brain Vision software, results are averaged and differences in ERN’s are compared for reward and non-reward trials.

32. Procedures Cont’d • EAI, Exercise Addiction Index • Six statement inventory based on components of behavioral addiction. • Gives resultant score out of 30. • Use score to place participant at low, moderate, or high risk.

33. Procedures Cont’d • Large group of Ultramarathoners, as well as the substance addicted control group, will be recruited to fill out survey. • One group of high risk and one group of low risk athletes will be chosen from the pool of results.

34. Procedures Cont’d • Surveys • General Addiction

35. Procedures Cont’d DataAnalysis

36. Procedures Cont’d • Data Analysis

37. Procedures Cont’d • Data Analysis

38. References Basson, C. J. (2001). Personality and behaviour associated with excessive dependence on exercise: Some reflections from research. South African Journal of Psychology, 31(2), 53-61. Blaydon, M. J., & Lindner, K. J. (2002). Eating Disorders and Exercise Dependence in Triathletes. Eating Disorders, 10, 49-60. Cox, R., & Oxford, J. (2004). A qualitative study of the meaning of exercise for people who could be labelled as addicted to exercise can addiction be applied to high frequency exercising?. Addiction Research and Theory, 12(2), 167-188. Downs, D. S., Hausenblas, H. A., & Nigg, C. R. (2004). Factorial validity and psychometric examination of the exercise dependence scale-revised. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 8(4), 183-201. Griffiths, M. D., Szabo, A., & Terry, A. (2005). The exercise addiction inventory: A quick and easy screening tool for health practitioners. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(30), Hamer, M., & Karageorghis, C. I. (2007). Psychobiological mechanisms of exercise dependence. Sports Medicine, 37(6), 477-484. Klein, D. A., Bennett, A. S., Schebendach, J., Foltin, R. W., Devlin, M. J., Walsh, B. T. (2004). . Exercise addiction in anorexia nervosa: Model development and pilot development. CNS Spectrums, 9(7), 531-537. Rhodes, J. S, Gammie, S. C., & Garland, T. (2005). Neurobiology of mice selected for high voluntary wheel-running activity. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45, 438-455. Roberts, A. J., & Koob, G. F. (1997). Neurobiology of addiction: An overview. Alcohol Health and Research World, 21(2), 101-106. Terry, A., Szabo, A., & Griffiths, M. (2004). The exercise addiction inventory: a new brief screening tool. Addiction Research and Theory, 12(5), 489-499.