Pediatric chronic widespread pain (CWP) is a serious public health problem resulting in high levels of healthcare utilization and disability. Youth with CWP also frequently report exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; abuse/neglect, violent/conflictual home environment, etc.) and a significant subset continue to experience physical and psychosocial impairment long-term. Certain mind-body interventions such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or meditation may be particularly appropriate for youth with CWP as they have been shown to modulate stress-induced maladaptation of the HPA-axis, autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular system, and brain structure (e.g., hippocampus). However, it is currently unknown if these targets are affected in youth with CWP. Preliminary research indicates that allostatic load (AL), or ?wear and tear? on the nervous system due to stress, may contribute to pain chronicity. Similarly, evidence suggests that the hippocampus, a brain structure that is among the most deleteriously affected by stress, plays a role in pain perception. However, no study to-date has examined AL and hippocampal functioning in relation to stress exposure in youth with CWP. Mind-body interventions such as MBSR or meditation are an important and safe therapy option for both pain and stress reduction in youth with CWP and may modulate the negative impact of ACEs, so there is a critical need to know if these mechanisms are engaged in this population. The proposed research project utilizes multifactorial physiological and neuroimaging measurement techniques to enhance our understanding of the potential role of these mechanisms in pain-related impairment and responsiveness to mind-body interventions over time.
The aims of this submission are to better characterize AL, assessed via a multifactorial composite, and hippocampal functioning via fMRI in pediatric CWP as specific targets for mind-body interventions that can lead to treatment optimization and improved compliance. The long-term goal of this K23 award is for the candidate to establish an independent research career aimed at carrying out mechanistically informed mind-body interventions. Chronic widespread pain was selected as a model condition because of its commonality within pediatric pain clinics and strong association with central sensitization, high stress, psychological impairment, and functional disability. The primary training objectives are to acquire expertise in neurobiological measurement and interpretation and to leverage current research activities in complement to this proposal that will lay the foundation for future mechanistically driven clinical trial grant submissions as an independent investigator. The candidate will accomplish this through: 1) mentorship in a clinical/research environment, 2) hands-on training in the neurobiological measurement of the physiological effects of stress, complemented by didactics in neuroendocrine and fMRI measurement, 3) mentorship and coursework in advanced data analytic techniques, 4) leveraging psychosocial practice activities and clinical trial involvement in conjunction with effort on the proposed award, and 5) execution of the proposed research plan and submission of an independent investigator award application. These studies and training will provide the necessary data to inform the development of an R01 clinical trial designed to test the physiological mechanism(s) of response to MBSR, meditation, and other non-pharmacological techniques in youth with CWP.
Public Health Relevance: Chronic widespread pain (CWP) is a common chronic pain condition in youth and often associated with significant pain-related and psychosocial impairment. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie pediatric chronic pain and pain-related impairment can inform future treatments to ameliorate patients? suffering, making it a critical area of empirical investigation.
