The Effects of an Acute High-intensity Exercise on Heart and Brain Function in People With Spinal Cord Injury

The Effects of an Acute High-intensity Interval Training on Heart and Brain Function in People With Spinal Cord Injury

The heart and brain are regulated by the autonomic nervous system. Control of these organs can be disrupted in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). This may affect their ability to regulate blood pressure during daily activities and process the high-level information. Previous studies show that high-intensity exercise induces better outcomes on heart and information processing ability in non-injured people compared to moderate-intensity exercise. However, it is unknown the effects of high-intensity exercise on heart and brain function in people with SCI. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of a single bout of high-intensity interval training on heart and brain function in this people with SCI compared to age- and sex-matched non-injured controls.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries; Cognition; Autonomic Nervous System Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: High-intensity interval exercise

Detailed Description

This study will be a cohort control study involving two groups: individuals with SCI, whose level of injury is at the 6th thoracic vertebra or above, and age- and sex-matched controls. Eligible participants will be asked to visit the Laboratory located at 115 Kimball Tower, University at Buffalo South Campus, twice. The first visit takes up to 3 hours, and the second visit takes up to 5 hours.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 30

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • Buffalo, New York, United States, 14214
      • University at Buffalo, South Campus

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

This study will include people with SCI with level of injury T6 or above and age- and sex-matched non-injured controls.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Diagnosed with a traumatic or non-traumatic spinal cord injury and have ≥4/5 strength in at least one cervical 5 myotome (elbow flexors), allowing to utilize the arm ergometer and level of injury at or above the 6th thoracic vertebra
2. Classified as A, B, C, D (motor and sensory complete or incomplete) on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS)
3. Longer than 6 months post the onset of injury and have been discharged to the community from inpatient rehabilitation prior to enrollment
4. English is the first language
5. At least one of the cerebral arteries (i.e., middle cerebral artery and/or posterior cerebral artery) can be found via transcranial Doppler

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Medical conditions that preclude exercise, such as unstable angina, uncontrolled arrhythmias, a recent history of congestive heart failure that has not been evaluated and effectively treated, severe valvular disease, uncontrolled hypertension (i.e., resting systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 105 mmHg)
2. Moderate-severe traumatic brain injury
3. Diabetes
4. Color blindness
5. Pre-existing shoulder injuries
6. Pregnancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Spinal Cord Injury; This group includes people with spinal cord injury and the level of injury is at the 6th thoracic vertebra or above.	Behavioral: High-intensity interval exercise; Three high-intensity exercise bouts, each at 100% of maximal power output for 20 seconds, interspersed with active recovery periods of 120 seconds at 10% of maximal power output.
Non-injured Controls; This group includes age- and sex-matched non-injured control participants.	Behavioral: High-intensity interval exercise; Three high-intensity exercise bouts, each at 100% of maximal power output for 20 seconds, interspersed with active recovery periods of 120 seconds at 10% of maximal power output.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Low frequency of systolic blood pressure variability	Biomarker for autonomic nervous system function	Baseline, Physiological tests pre- and 10 minutes post-exercise
High frequency of heart rate variability	Biomarker for autonomic nervous system function	Baseline, Physiological tests pre- and 10 minutes post-exercise
Blood pressure	Biomarker for autonomic nervous system function	Baseline, Physiological tests pre- and 10 minutes post-exercise
Heart rate	Biomarker for autonomic nervous system function	Baseline, Physiological tests pre- and 10 minutes post-exercise

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cerebral blood flow velocity	Biomarker for cerebrovascular function	Baseline, cognitive tests pre- and 10-minutes post-exercise
Symbol Digit Matched Test score	Assessment for cognitive function	Baseline, cognitive tests pre- and 10-minutes post-exercise
California Verbal Learning Test score	Assessment for cognitive function	Baseline, cognitive tests pre- and 10-minutes post-exercise
Color-Word Stroop Test score	Assessment for cognitive function	Baseline, cognitive tests pre- and 10-minutes post-exercise
Controlled Word Association Task score	Assessment for cognitive function	Baseline, cognitive tests pre- and 10-minutes post-exercise

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: State University of New York at Buffalo
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Wenjie Ji, MS, University at Buffalo

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Ji W, Wecht JM, Jo HJ, Stefanovic F, Miecznikowski J, Chiaravalloti ND, Sisto SA. Effects of a single bout of high-intensity-interval exercise on cardiovascular autonomic, cerebrovascular, and cognitive function in people with spinal cord injury: A study protocol. PLoS One. 2025 Jul 1;20(7):e0326861. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0326861. eCollection 2025.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 14, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): July 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 13, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 20, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): February 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 3, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 26, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Trauma, Nervous System; Spinal Cord Diseases; Spinal Cord Injuries; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Physical Conditioning, Human; Exercise; High-Intensity Interval Training
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00006517

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No