The Role, and Underlying Neural Mechanisms of, Physical Activity in Treating Substance and Alcohol Use Disorders

Maintaining healthy and consistent levels of physical activity (PA) is a clinically proven and cost-effective means of reducing the onset of >40-chronic diseases and may provide an excellent strategy for managing and treating harmful substance and alcohol use. However, the relationship between substance use and PA (and their underlying mechanisms) are complex and widely understudied. This topic seeks to identify the overlapping and divergent neural correlates of voluntary PA, a natural reward, and that of drug and alcohol-related reward, and whether PA can play an important part in reducing the neurological and psychosocial harm associated with excessive drug and alcohol use. For instance, emerging evidence suggests that consistent PA reduces cue-induced alcohol seeking in dependent rats and may act to rescue withdrawal-induced reduction in reward circuit neural engagement.

Another area of interest is identifying the role of neural mechanisms important for interoception - the process of sensing, translating, and integrating the internal body state to reach homeostasis. Consistent PA has been shown to effect neural activity in the insula cortex, an important interoceptive brain region, and is thought to underlie an improved ability to regulate exertion (i.e., homeostatic flexibility), a process that is known to be disrupted in individuals with Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders. PA interventions have been shown to improve interceptive processing and symptomology in individuals with major depressive disorder; however, similar testing in the context of substance use is minimal. In total, the primary goal of this Topic is to better understand these and related neural mechanisms across molecular, neuronal, circuit and behavioral approaches as a means of targeting PA as a treatment option for harmful drug and alcohol use.

We welcome all original research articles and reviews that focus on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• The influence of resistance and/or endurance exercise on preclinical or clinical models of harmful alcohol or drug intake, seeking, withdrawal or motivational measures
• Utilizing circuit, cellular or molecular-based approaches to identify important neural determinants of physical activity and substance use
• Testing the role of physical activity at the intersectionality of other known risk factors for drug and alcohol misuse

Keywords: Neural Mechanisms, Substance Use, Alcohol Use, Physical Activity, Interoception

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.