. 2022 Aug 9;7(4):388–408. doi: 10.1089/can.2021.0113

Table 1.

Included samples on acute exercise (N=40 samples reported in N=22 articles)

Type	First author (year)	Condition	Strain of animal	Sample size (n)	Age (mean±SD)	Gender (% female)	Race/ethnicity (%)	Type of exercise	Exercise modality	Exercise duration	Exercise intensity	eCB collection method	eCB collection timepoints	Significant reported change in AEA	Significant reported change in 2-AG	Significant reported change in other eCBs	Additional outcomes^a
Human studies
Patients, including those with pre-existing conditions
	Crombie (2020)⁸⁸	Patients with PTSD	N/A	HC: n=12 TE: n=14 PTSD: n=14	HC: 21.4±3.9 TE: 23.0±5.4 PTSD: 27.6±6.6	HC: 100% F TE: 100% F PTSD: 100% F	HC: 92% W, 8% B, 0% A, 0% M, 0% O TE: 86% W, 0% B, 7% A, 0% M, 7% O PSTD: 64% W, 21% B, 7% A, 0% M, 7% O	Endurance	Treadmill running	30 min of running on a treadmill at a moderate-intensity exercise with 5 min warm-up and cool-down	70–75% AAMHR	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	HC: AEA ↑ TE: AEA ↑ PTSD: AEA ↑	HC: 2-AG ↑ TE: 2-AG ↑ PTSD: 2-AG ↑	HC: OEA ↑ PEA ↑ 2-OG ↑ TE: OEA ↑ PEA ↑ 2-OG ↑ PTSD: OEA ↑ PEA ↑ 2-OG ↑	HC: Anxiety ↓ Fear ↓ Improvements in mood TE: Anxiety ↓ Fear ↓ Improvements in mood PTSD: Anxiety ↓ Fear ↓ Improvements in mood
	Meyer (2019)⁵⁸	Patients with MDD	N/A	n=17	40.8±14.8	100% F	N/R	Endurance	Electronically braked cycle ergometer	30 min of cycling, either (1) at a moderate intensity or (2) at a preferred intensity, each with 5 min warm-up and cool-down	Ratings of perceived exertion of “13”	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and as quickly as possible after the session ended, always within 10 min post-exercise	Prescribed: AEA ↑ Preferred: No AEA changes	Prescribed: No 2-AG changes Preferred: No 2-AG changes	Prescribed: OEA ↑ No PEA, 2-OG changes Preferred: No OEA, PEA, 2-OG changes	Prescribed: Improvements in mood related to eCB changes Preferred: Improvements in mood not related to eCB changes
	Crombie (2019)⁸⁰	Patients with PTSD	N/A	HC: n=10 PTSD: n=10	HC: 22.0±6.1 PTSD: 25.2±8.1	HC: 70% F PTSD: 80% F	HC: 70% W, 0% B, 20% A, 10% M, 0% O PTSD: 90% W, 0% B, 10% A, 0% M, 0% O	Endurance	Treadmill running or incline walking	30 min of running or walking on a treadmill at a moderate-intensity exercise with 5 min warm-up and cool-down	70–75% AAMHR	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	HC: AEA ↑ PTSD: AEA ↑	HC: 2-AG ↑ PTSD: No 2-AG changes	HC: OEA ↑ No PEA, 2-OG changes PTSD: OEA ↑ No PEA, 2-OG changes	N/A
	Stensson (2019)⁴⁹	Patients with CNSP	N/A	HC: n=11 CNSP: n=21	HC: 37.7±15.9 CNSP: 50.8±12.9	HC: 55% F CNSP: 76% F	N/R	Endurance	Arm cycling	A 30-min session of arm cycling	N/R	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and 60 min after exercise	HC: AEA ↓ CNSP: No AEA changes	HC: No 2-AG changes CNSP: No 2-AG changes	HC: No OEA, PEA, SEA changes CNSP: No OEA, PEA, SEA changes	HC: Glutamate/AEA ratio ↑ CNSP: No glutamate/AEA ratio changes
	Brellenthin (2019)^44,b	Patients with Substance Abuse Disorder	N/A	Treatment as usual with exercise: n=21	35.1±10.2	45% F	64% W, 2% B, 0% A, 1% M, 1% O	Endurance	Treadmill incline walking	30 min of moderate-intensity treadmill incline walking	70–75% AAMHR	Standard blood draw	Collected within 5 min before and after exercise	AEA ↑	No 2-AG changes	N/A	Acute improvements in mood and reductions in perceived stress and drug craving
	Crombie (2018)³⁰	Patients with PTSD	N/A	HC: n=12 PTSD: n=12	HC: 22.0±4.7 PTSD: 26.1±6.7	HC: 75% F PTSD: 75% F	N/R	Endurance	Treadmill running or incline walking	30 min of walking or running on a treadmill at a moderate intensity with 10 min warm-up	70–75% AAMHR	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	HC: AEA ↑ PTSD: AEA ↑	HC: 2-AG ↑ PTSD: 2-AG ↑	HC: OEA ↑ No PEA, 2-OG changes PTSD: OEA ↑ No PEA, 2-OG changes	HC: Improvements in mood Pain ↓ PTSD: Improvements in mood Pain ↓
Healthy volunteers
	Marin Bosch (2020)⁴⁶	Healthy volunteers	N/A	n=15	23.2±4.2	0% F	N/R	Endurance	Cycling	A 30-min session of cycling at a moderate intensity and 15 min of cycling at a high intensity the next day, each with a 3 min warm-up and cool-down	Moderate intensity: 70% MHR High intensity: 80% MHR	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	Moderate intensity: AEA ↑ High intensity: AEA ↑	N/A	N/A	Hippocampus activation ↑ Motor sequence learning ↑
	Hughes (2020)⁸⁹	Healthy, recreationally active volunteers	N/A	n=12	29.0±6.0	17% F	N/R	Strength	Light load RE, BFR-RE, BFR-RE with high pressure, and heavy load RE	Light load RE, BFR-RE, BFR-RE with high pressure: 4 sets (30, 15, 15, and 15 repetitions, respectively) of unilateral leg press exercise with 30 sec interset rest periods. Heavy load RE: 4 sets of 10 repetitions of unilateral leg press exercise with 53 sec interset rest periods.	Light load RE, BFR-RE, BFR-RE with high pressure: 30% one rep max Heavy load RE: 70% one rep max	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before, 5 min after, 10 min after, and 24 h after exercise	N/A	Light load RE, BFR-RE, BFR-RE with high pressure, and heavy load RE: No 2-AG changes (decrease for heavy load RE after 24 h)	N/A	Beta-endorphin concentration ↑ Pain ↓
	Stone (2018)⁹⁰	Healthy volunteers	N/A	n=9	61.0	100% F	N/R	Endurance	Cycling and dancing	One 30-min session of cycling and one 30 min session of dancing	N/R	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	Cycling: No AEA changes Dancing: No AEA changes	N/A	Cycling: OEA ↑, no PEA changes Dancing: no OEA changes, no PEA changes	Cycling: ↓ hunger/appetite Dancing: Improved mood
	Crombie (2018)^91,c	Healthy volunteers (placebo condition)	N/A	n=58	21.0±3.0	50% F	57% W, 17% B, 14% A, 12% M, 0% O	Strength	Isometric handgrip	Isometric handgrip exercise for 3 min	25% MVC	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and within 5 min after exercise	AEA ↑	2-AG ↑	OEA ↑ PEA ↑ 2-OG ↑	See Koltyn (2014)²⁹
	Brellenthin (2017)⁴⁰	Healthy volunteers	N/A	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): n=11 Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): n=12 High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): n=13	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 20.6±2.4 Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 19.8±1.1 High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 22.6±5.5	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 50% F Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 50% F High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 50% F	N/R	Endurance	Prescribed treadmill exercise and preferred intensity treadmill exercise. Order was randomized and counterbalanced across participants	Prescribed exercise: 45 min session of treadmill walking or running Preferred exercise: participants' choice of treadmill exercise intensity and duration	Prescribed: 70–75% VO2max Low PA preferred: 74.7±7.8 Moderate PA preferred: 80.4±7.6 High PA preferred: 74.6±15.5	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and within 5 min after exercise	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): AEA ↑ Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): AEA ↑ High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): AEA ↑	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 2-AG ↑ Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 2-AG ↑ High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): 2-AG ↑	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): OEA ↑ PEA ↑ Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): OEA ↑ PEA ↑ High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): OEA ↑ PEA ↑	Low PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): Improvements in mood Moderate PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): Improvements in mood High PA exercisers (preferred and prescribed): Improvements in mood
	Cedernaes (2016)⁴⁷	Healthy volunteers	N/A	n=16	22.9±0.7	0% F	N/R	Endurance	Ergometer cycling	Ergometer cycling for 35 min	Watts equivalent to 75% of VO2 reserve	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before, 15 min after, and 4 h after exercise	No AEA changes	2-AG ↑	OEA ↑ No PEA changes	Sleep deprivation ↑2-AG levels but no modulation in exercise response
	Koltyn (2014)²⁹	Healthy volunteers (placebo condition only)	N/A	n=58	21±3.0	50% F	57% W, 17% B, 14% A, 12% M, 0% O	Strength	Isometric handgrip	Isometric handgrip exercise for 3 min	25% MVC	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and within 5 min after exercise	AEA ↑	2-AG ↑	OEA ↑ PEA ↑ 2-OG ↑ DHEA ↑	PPT ↑ PPR ↓
	Raichlen (2013)³¹	Healthy volunteers	N/A	n=10	31.9±12.1	40% F	N/R	Endurance	Treadmill running or walking	30 min of treadmill walking or running at one of four intensities. Intensities were randomized across four separate laboratory visits.	Intensity 1: <50% AAMHR Intensity 2: 70% AAMHR Intensity 3: 80% AAMHR Intensity 4: 90% AAMHR	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	Intensity 1: No AEA changes Intensity 2: AEA ↑ Intensity 3: AEA ↑ Intensity 4: No AEA changes	Intensity 1: No 2-AG changes Intensity 2: No 2-AG changes Intensity 3: No 2-AG changes Intensity 4: No 2-AG changes	N/A	Improved positive affect
	Raichlen (2012)⁵⁹	Healthy volunteers	N/A	n=10	N/R	N/R	N/R	Endurance	Treadmill running or walking	30 min of treadmill walking on day 1 and 30 min of treadmill running on day 2	Running: 72.5%±2.54% MHR (Froude of 0.71±0.03) Walking: 44.6%±1.25% MHR (Froude of 0.26±0.01)	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	Running: AEA ↑ Walking: No AEA changes	Running: No 2-AG changes Walking: No 2-AG changes	N/A	N/A
	Feuerecker (2012)⁴⁸	Healthy, trained hikers	N/A	n=12	27.6	0% F	N/R	Endurance	Hiking	Protocol A: Hiking at lower altitude for 4–4.5 h Protocol B: Hiking at higher altitude for 3.5–5.5 h	Protocol A: Hiking at lower altitude of ∼1650 m Protocol B: Hiking at higher altitude of ∼3380 m (1780 m difference compared with lower altitude)	Standard blood draw	Collected before, immediately after, 18 h after, and 24 h after exercise	Protocol A: AEA ↑ Protocol B: AEA ↑	Protocol A: No 2-AG changes Protocol B: No 2-AG changes	N/A	Hypoxia (higher altitudes) ↑ eCB system activation
	Heyman (2012)⁵⁶	Healthy, trained cyclists	N/A	n=11	23.3±5.1	0% F	N/R	Endurance	Cycling	60 min of pedaling on an ergometric bicycle, followed by predetermined amount of work equal to 30 min at higher intensity. The total exercise period was 90 min	55% of maximal power output for 60 min, followed by 75% of maximal power output for 30 min	Standard blood draw	Collected at rest, after 60 min of exercise at 55% maximal power output, immediately after the 90 min time trial, and 15 min after exercise.	AEA ↑ after a 90-min exercise period	No 2-AG changes	N/A	BDNF levels ↑ significantly during exercise and ↓ during the 15 min of recovery BDNF and AEA concentrations correlated after exercise
	Sparling (2003)⁴¹	Healthy, trained volunteers	N/A	Running: n=8 Cycling: n=8	23.8±9.4	Running: 0% F Cycling: 0% F	N/R	Endurance	Running or cycling	45 min of prescribed exercise	70–80% MHR	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	Running: AEA ↑ Cycling: AEA ↑	Running: No 2-AG changes Cycling: No 2-AG changes	N/A	N/A
Animal studies
	King-Himmelreich (2017)⁶⁴	Mice treated with CB1R antagonist and AMP-activated protein kinase	C57BL/6 mice	N/R	6–8 weeks	N/R	N/R	Endurance	Treadmill running	60 min of treadmill running	N/R	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately after, 30 min after, 2 h after, 4 h after, and 24 h after exercise	AEA ↑	N/A	N/A	CB1 ↑, FAAH ↓ Found a significant ↓ in the nociceptive response after a single bout of 1 h treadmill running
	Fuss (2015)⁹²	Mice	C57BL/6J mice	n=16	10 weeks	N/R	N/R	Endurance	Wheel running	5 h of wheel running	N/R	Mice tissues (e.g., heart, lung, skeletal muscle, brain), cerebrospinal fluid, and plasma	Collected 5 h after exercise	AEA ↑	2-AG ↑	OEA ↑ PEA ↑ AA ↑	Anxiety-like behavior ↓ Pain (thermal sensitivity) ↓ Absence of CB1R on GABAergic neurons and blockade of central and peripheral CBRs inhibits anxiolytic and analgesic effects, respectively.
	Galdino (2014)⁹³	Rats injected with CB receptor inverse agonists, eCB metabolizing enzyme inhibitors and an AEA reuptake inhibitor	Male Wistar rats	N/R	N/R	0% F	N/R	Strength	RE (i.e., electrical stimulation to the animal's tail causing them to flex their leg muscles)	15 sets of 15 repetitions, with a 120 sec rest between each set. The total exercise period was 7.5 min	Load was 70% of one rep max	Cardiac puncture	Collected immediately after exercise	AEA ↑	2-AG ↑	OEA ↑ PEA ↑	Injection of AM251 and AM630 prevents the antinociceptive effect induced by acute RE
	Galdino (2014)⁹⁴	Rats injected with CB receptor inverse agonists, eCB metabolizing enzyme inhibitors and an AEA reuptake inhibitor	Male Wistar rats	N/R	N/R	0% F	N/R	Endurance	Treadmill running	Animals ran with a progressive speed at 20 m/min (average time of 49.06 min) and 0% inclination until fatigue	N/R	Cardiac puncture	Collected immediately after exercise	AEA ↑	2-AG ↑	OEA ↑ PEA ↑	Injection of AM251 and AM630 prevents the antinociceptive effect induced by acute aerobic exercise
	Raichlen (2012)^59,d	Dogs and ferrets	Mixed-breed dogs and ferrets	Dogs: n=8 Ferrets: n=8	N/R	N/R	N/R	Endurance	Treadmill running and walking	30 min of walking on day 1 and 30 min of running on day 2	Running (Dogs and Ferrets): Froude numbers of ∼0.70 Walking (Dogs and Ferrets): Froude numbers of ∼0.25	Standard blood draw	Collected immediately before and after exercise	Dogs: AEA ↑ Ferrets: No AEA changes	Dogs: No 2-AG changes Ferrets: No 2-AG changes	N/A	N/A

Reported sample size is only for the sample that performed the exercise condition.

^{^a}

Outcomes, including mood, anxiety, stress, pain, fear, hunger, cravings, etc. were all self-reported unless otherwise stated.

^{^b}

Also appears in chronic exercise section.

^{^c}

Same sample as in Koltyn (2014).²⁹

^{^d}

Same article as human study by Raichlen (2012).³¹

2-AG, 2-arachidonoylglycerol; 2-OG, 2-oleoylglycerol; A, Asian; AA, arachidonic acid; AAMHR, age-adjusted maximum heart rate; AEA, anandamide; AMP, adenosine monophosphate; B, Black; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; BFR-RE, blood flow restriction resistance exercise; CB1R, cannabinoid type 1 receptor; CNSP, chronic neck and shoulder pain; DHEA, docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide; eCB, endocannabinoid; F, female; FAAH, fatty acid amide hydrolase; HC, healthy control; M, mixed; MDD, major depressive disorder; MHR, maximum heart rate; MVC, maximum voluntary contraction; N/A, not applicable; N/R, not reported; O, other; OEA, oleoylethanolamide; PEA, palmitoylethanolamide; PPR, pressure pain ratings; PPT, Pressure pain thresholds; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; RE, resistance exercise; SD, standard deviation; TE, trauma-exposed individuals without PTSD; W, White.