Effects of Acute Dance and Aerobic Exercise on Drug Craving and Food Reward in Women with Methamphetamine Dependence

ABSTRACT Introduction Drug dependence causes an overestimation of drug-related stimuli and an underestimation of non–drug-related stimuli, such as food. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acute moderate-intensity dance and aerobic exercise on drug craving, appetite, prefrontal neural activation to food cues, and food reward in women with methamphetamine MA dependence. Methods Thirty-nine women who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition MA dependence criteria participated in the experiment and were randomly assigned to either a dance ( n = 20) or exercise ( n = 19) group. A moderate-intensity (65%–75% maximum heart rate) 35-min dance or treadmill intervention counterbalanced with a reading control session was conducted. After the intervention or control, subjective drug craving was measured before and after exposure to drug-related cues. Visual analog scales were used to measure subjective feelings of appetite. Participants then completed a visual food cue paradigm while using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to monitor prefrontal blood oxygen changes. Finally, the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire was used to measure reward responses to different categories of food. Results The results showed that the dance and exercise interventions reduced subjective craving for drugs after being exposed to drug cues ( P = 0.019). Implicit wanting ( P < 0.001) and relative preferences ( P = 0.001) for high-calorie savory foods were all increased after interventions relative to control. Compared with the control session, the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ( P = 0.020) was activated when viewing high-calorie foods after moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Conclusions The current results support the use of moderate-intensity exercise as a therapeutic intervention to restore the balance between drug and nondrug rewards by decreasing cue-induced MA craving and increasing food reward.