Exercise TrainingGETActiveHITNCT06123182
Guided Episodic Future Thinking to Increase Physical Activity Adherence and Promote Healthy Brain Aging
A study testing Episodic Future Thinking, Episodic Recent Thinking and Positive Affective Imagery in people with Exercise Training and Aging, run by University of Kansas Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this behavioral clinical trial is to learn how to increase physical activity in mid-life adults. Specifically, can guided imagery that includes creating mental pictures increase excitement about working out. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 45 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Exercise Training, Aging
- What is being tested?
- Episodic Future Thinking, Episodic Recent Thinking and Positive Affective Imagery
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 160 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 23 Feb 2024to May 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 45 to 65 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- speak English
- have access to reliable communication (a telephone or cell phone, computer, etc.)
- normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing
- ambulatory (without the use of assistive devices)
- physically underactive
- able to give informed consent
Show all 11Show fewer
- able to exercise continuously on the recumbent stepper exercise device for 4 minutes greater than or equal to 25 watts to demonstrate ability to perform exercise on stepper \& no aerobic exercise contraindications or other safety/physical concerns
- able to communicate with investigators, follow 2-step command \& correctly answer consent comprehension questions
- stable blood pressure and statin medication doses for 30 days as these affect vascular health/hemodynamics
- willing and able to safely enter magnetic resonance (MR) scanner and attempt the MR scan
- willing and able to attempt a blood draw
Who cannot join
- patients with arrhythmias or acute cardiac events will be excluded due to potential complications with the supervised moderate exercise
- at risk for hazard due to magnetic fields due to MR safety concerns
- have any neurologic or psychiatric disorder except depression, anxiety (including post-traumatic stress disorder)
- have history of seizures or head trauma due to MR data quality
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, Kansas, 66160
Morgan Brucks, B.A., (913) 588-0173
About this study
Official title: Guided Episodic Future Thinking to Increase Physical Activity Adherence and Promote Healthy Brain Aging Among Mid-Life Adults: Phase II
The goal of this behavioral clinical trial is to learn how to increase physical activity in mid-life adults. Specifically, can guided imagery that includes creating mental pictures increase excitement about working out.
Participants will be asked to complete testing at the beginning of the study, following 6-weeks of an in-person exercise program, and 6-weeks after finishing the exercise program. Testing will include an exercise test, MRI, questionnaires, computer tasks, and a blood draw.
Read the detailed description
The proposed project will target regulation and reward systems using guided imagery to increase exercise adherence by increasing positive affect and the evaluation of future rewards among mid-life adults. The investigators will conduct a within subject design in 160 mid-life adults (45-65 years of age) and examine the impact of different components of guided imagery on exercise adherence, regulation systems indexed by delay discounting, positive affect related to exercise, and functional neuroimaging (i.e., connectivity between regulation and reward brain regions). Participants will be asked to complete three assessment appointment periods: 1) baseline, 2) 6-weeks (i.e., end of exercise intervention), and 3) 12-weeks. Each appointment will include assessment of primary outcome measures of delay discounting and exercise positive affect. In addition, baseline and 6-week appointments will include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessments of functional connectivity between reward and regulation regions. Physical activity will be measured at baseline, immediately following the intervention, and 6 weeks following the intervention to explore changes in physical activity across study participation. At the end of the final appointment participants will be debriefed on the goals of the study and asked to provide feedback related to feasibility, the guided imagery experience, and exercise intervention experience to inform future research. In addition, blood draws will be completed at baseline to assess genetic risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (i.e., APOE). If successful, this approach could be used in future studies to increase participation in exercise and adherence to exercise interventions with the goal of promoting brain health and reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The design of the proposed clinical trial permits a rigorous evaluation of the role of engaging regulation and reward systems to change immediate and future reward. The exercise intervention will consist of one-on-one high intensity interval training (HIIT) overseen by an exercise specialist twice a week for 6 weeks. Exercise adherence will be monitored as the percentage of the weekly exercise and adherence to the HIIT protocol.
- Conditions
- Exercise Training, Aging
- Being tested
- Episodic Future Thinking, Episodic Recent Thinking, Positive Affective Imagery, Neutral Affective Imagery, HIIT Exercise Intervention
- Keywords
- Adherence, Guided Imagery
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Episodic Future ThinkingBehavioural
During the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think in detail of a future (6 months to a year) where they have made healthy choices regarding physical activity and are physically active.
Episodic Recent ThinkingBehavioural
During the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think about a routine weekly activity.
Positive Affective ImageryBehavioural
During the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think in detail about the positive outcomes and sensations associated with an exercise bout.
Neutral Affective ImageryBehavioural
During the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think in detail about the physical sensations associated with an exercise bout.
HIIT Exercise InterventionBehavioural
The high intensity interval training (HIIT) will be conducted 2 times per week for 6 weeks. The duration of each individual exercise session will last about 45 minutes. After the 5-minute warm-up at 30% peak workload, HIIT will consist of repeated 1-minute high intensity bursts ("on" interval) alternated with 1-minute interval recovery ("off" interval) for 25 minutes. The "on" interval will begin at 80% of peak watts (range: 75%-85%) followed by the "off" interval at 10% of peak watts. The session will end with up to 10 minute cool-down at 20% peak workload.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) | Experimental | Assigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The EFT will always be delivered during warm-up and the PAI will always be delivered during cool-down. Receives: Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking; Behavioral: Positive Affective Imagery; Behavioral: HIIT Exercise Intervention |
| Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI) | Experimental | Assigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The EFT will always be delivered during warm-up and the NAI will always be delivered during cool-down. Receives: Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking; Behavioral: Neutral Affective Imagery; Behavioral: HIIT Exercise Intervention |
| Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) | Experimental | Assigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The ERT will always be delivered during warm-up and the PAI will always be delivered during cool-down. Receives: Behavioral: Episodic Recent Thinking; Behavioral: Positive Affective Imagery; Behavioral: HIIT Exercise Intervention |
| Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI) | Active comparator | Assigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The ERT will always be delivered during warm-up and the NAI will always be delivered during cool-down. Receives: Behavioral: Episodic Recent Thinking; Behavioral: Neutral Affective Imagery; Behavioral: HIIT Exercise Intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Adherence to HIIT exercise
Adherence will be calculated as percent sessions attended each week and percent minutes during which the participant adhered to the HIIT protocol.
Measured: 1 to 6-weeks
The Monetary-Choice Questionnaire
The Monetary-Choice Questionnaire is a 27-item self-administered questionnaire. For each item, the participant chooses between a smaller, immediate monetary reward and a larger, delayed monetary reward. The investigators will behaviorally assess participants' preferences for immediately available smaller rewards vs. delayed larger rewards.
Measured: 1 to 6-weeks
Positive Affect
The Feeling Scale is a single item measure of core affect on which participants are asked to rate their current feelings on an 11-point scale ranging from -5 (very bad) to 5 (very good).
Measured: 1 to 6-weeks
Secondary outcomes (1)
Percent signal change in Functional Connectivity Neuroimaging
The investigators will assess % signal changes in brain connectivity between reward and regulation brain regions following intervention.
Measured: 1 to 6-weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted8 Nov 2023
- Study start23 Feb 2024
- Primary completionMay 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionMay 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Exercise TrainingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- 2 (positive affect imagery vs. neutral) x 2 (episodic future thinking vs. recent thinking)
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 160 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Laura Martin, University of Kansas Medical Center
- Investigators
- Laura Martin, Principal investigator, University of Kansas Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06123182
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STUDY00150353
- Other IDs
- R33AG078087
- Acronym
- GETActiveHIT
- Status last verified
- Mar 2026
- First submitted
- 27 Oct 2023
- Last updated
- 27 Mar 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Mar 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Guided Episodic Future Thinking to Increase Physical Activity Adherence and Promote Healthy Brain Aging Among Mid-Life Adults: Phase II
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06123182
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- GETActiveHIT / STUDY00150353
- Conditions
- Exercise Training, Aging
- Keywords
- Adherence, Guided Imagery
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 160 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Kansas Medical CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Study start
- 23 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- May 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- May 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 8 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this behavioral clinical trial is to learn how to increase physical activity in mid-life adults. Specifically, can guided imagery that includes creating mental pictures increase excitement about working out.
Participants will be asked to complete testing at the beginning of the study, following 6-weeks of an in-person exercise program, and 6-weeks after finishing the exercise program. Testing will include an exercise test, MRI, questionnaires, computer tasks, and a blood draw.
Detailed description
The proposed project will target regulation and reward systems using guided imagery to increase exercise adherence by increasing positive affect and the evaluation of future rewards among mid-life adults. The investigators will conduct a within subject design in 160 mid-life adults (45-65 years of age) and examine the impact of different components of guided imagery on exercise adherence, regulation systems indexed by delay discounting, positive affect related to exercise, and functional neuroimaging (i.e., connectivity between regulation and reward brain regions). Participants will be asked to complete three assessment appointment periods: 1) baseline, 2) 6-weeks (i.e., end of exercise intervention), and 3) 12-weeks. Each appointment will include assessment of primary outcome measures of delay discounting and exercise positive affect. In addition, baseline and 6-week appointments will include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessments of functional connectivity between reward and regulation regions. Physical activity will be measured at baseline, immediately following the intervention, and 6 weeks following the intervention to explore changes in physical activity across study participation. At the end of the final appointment participants will be debriefed on the goals of the study and asked to provide feedback related to feasibility, the guided imagery experience, and exercise intervention experience to inform future research. In addition, blood draws will be completed at baseline to assess genetic risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (i.e., APOE). If successful, this approach could be used in future studies to increase participation in exercise and adherence to exercise interventions with the goal of promoting brain health and reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The design of the proposed clinical trial permits a rigorous evaluation of the role of engaging regulation and reward systems to change immediate and future reward. The exercise intervention will consist of one-on-one high intensity interval training (HIIT) overseen by an exercise specialist twice a week for 6 weeks. Exercise adherence will be monitored as the percentage of the weekly exercise and adherence to the HIIT protocol.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 4
- Model description
- 2 (positive affect imagery vs. neutral) x 2 (episodic future thinking vs. recent thinking)
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) | Experimental | Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking, Behavioral: Positive Affective Imagery, Behavioral: HIIT Exercise InterventionAssigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The EFT will always be delivered during warm-up and the PAI will always be delivered during cool-down. |
| Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI) | Experimental | Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking, Behavioral: Neutral Affective Imagery, Behavioral: HIIT Exercise InterventionAssigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The EFT will always be delivered during warm-up and the NAI will always be delivered during cool-down. |
| Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) | Experimental | Behavioral: Episodic Recent Thinking, Behavioral: Positive Affective Imagery, Behavioral: HIIT Exercise InterventionAssigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The ERT will always be delivered during warm-up and the PAI will always be delivered during cool-down. |
| Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI) | Active comparator | Behavioral: Episodic Recent Thinking, Behavioral: Neutral Affective Imagery, Behavioral: HIIT Exercise InterventionAssigned guided imagery will be delivered during each exercise session throughout the 6-week exercise program. The guided imagery recordings will be delivered via audio recording during warm-up and cool-down periods during in-lab exercise sessions. The ERT will always be delivered during warm-up and the NAI will always be delivered during cool-down. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 45 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (11 listed)
- speak English
- have access to reliable communication (a telephone or cell phone, computer, etc.)
- normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing
- ambulatory (without the use of assistive devices)
- physically underactive
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- patients with arrhythmias or acute cardiac events will be excluded due to potential complications with the supervised moderate exercise
- at risk for hazard due to magnetic fields due to MR safety concerns
- have any neurologic or psychiatric disorder except depression, anxiety (including post-traumatic stress disorder)
- have history of seizures or head trauma due to MR data quality
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Episodic Future ThinkingDuring the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think in detail of a future (6 months to a year) where they have made healthy choices regarding physical activity and are physically active. | Behavioural | Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI), Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) |
| Episodic Recent ThinkingDuring the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think about a routine weekly activity. | Behavioural | Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI), Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) |
| Positive Affective ImageryDuring the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think in detail about the positive outcomes and sensations associated with an exercise bout. | Behavioural | Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI), Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) |
| Neutral Affective ImageryDuring the audio recorded guided imagery exercise participants will be asked to think in detail about the physical sensations associated with an exercise bout. | Behavioural | Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI), Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI) |
| HIIT Exercise InterventionThe high intensity interval training (HIIT) will be conducted 2 times per week for 6 weeks. The duration of each individual exercise session will last about 45 minutes. After the 5-minute warm-up at 30% peak workload, HIIT will consist of repeated 1-minute high intensity bursts ("on" interval) alternated with 1-minute interval recovery ("off" interval) for 25 minutes. The "on" interval will begin at 80% of peak watts (range: 75%-85%) followed by the "off" interval at 10% of peak watts. The session will end with up to 10 minute cool-down at 20% peak workload. | Behavioural | Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI), Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI), Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Neutral Affective Imagery (NAI), Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) + Positive Affective Imagery (PAI) |
Primary outcome
Adherence to HIIT exercise
Time frame: 1 to 6-weeks
Adherence will be calculated as percent sessions attended each week and percent minutes during which the participant adhered to the HIIT protocol.
The Monetary-Choice Questionnaire
Time frame: 1 to 6-weeks
The Monetary-Choice Questionnaire is a 27-item self-administered questionnaire. For each item, the participant chooses between a smaller, immediate monetary reward and a larger, delayed monetary reward. The investigators will behaviorally assess participants' preferences for immediately available smaller rewards vs. delayed larger rewards.
Positive Affect
Time frame: 1 to 6-weeks
The Feeling Scale is a single item measure of core affect on which participants are asked to rate their current feelings on an 11-point scale ranging from -5 (very bad) to 5 (very good).
1 secondary outcome
Percent signal change in Functional Connectivity Neuroimaging
Time frame: 1 to 6-weeks
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Mar 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Laura Martin principal investigator
University of Kansas Medical Center
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Episodic Future Thinking, Episodic Recent Thinking and Positive Affective Imagery in people with Exercise Training and Aging, run by University of Kansas Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 11 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Morgan Brucks ((913) 588-0173, mbrucks@kumc.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Adherence to HIIT exercise (time frame: 1 to 6-weeks). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Mar 2026.