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Lang-Illievich K, Klivinyi C, Ranftl J, Elhelali A, Hammer S, Szilagyi IS, Bornemann-Cimenti H. Change in Endogenous Pain Modulation Depending on Emotional States in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Pain Ther 2024:10.1007/s40122-024-00642-1. [PMID: 39102098 DOI: 10.1007/s40122-024-00642-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Chronic pain is a public health issue, leading to substantial healthcare costs and diminished quality of life for sufferers. While the role of anxiety in pain modulation has been extensively studied, the effects of other emotional states on the body's pain control mechanisms remain less understood. This study sought to explore how different emotions (happiness, anger, sadness, and interest) affect conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and the wind-up phenomenon in healthy adults. METHODS This randomized controlled, cross-over trial involved 28 healthy participants aged 18-60. Participants watched video clips designed to induce specific emotions: happiness, anger, sadness, and interest. Emotional states were assessed using a 7-point Likert scale. Pain modulation was measured using CPM and the wind-up phenomenon. CPM was assessed with a hot water bath as the conditioning stimulus and pressure pain tolerance as the test stimulus. Wind-up was measured using pinprick needle stimulators and a visual analog scale. Data were analyzed using paired t tests to compare pre- and post-emotion induction values. RESULTS Significant changes in emotional self-assessment values were observed for all emotions. Happiness increased CPM (4.6 ± 11.4, p = 0.04277), while sadness - 9.9 ± 23.1, p = 0.03211) and anger - 9.1 ± 23.3, p = 0.04804) decreased it. Interest did not significantly alter CPM (- 5.1 ± 25.8, p = 0.31042). No significant effects were found for the wind-up phenomenon across any emotional states. CONCLUSION This study shows that emotional states significantly affect the body's ability to modulate pain. Positive emotions like happiness enhance pain inhibition, while negative emotions such as sadness and anger impair it. These findings suggest that emotional modulation techniques could be integrated into pain management strategies to improve patient outcomes. Further research should explore a broader range of emotions and include objective measures to validate these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kordula Lang-Illievich
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, State Hospital Güssing, Güssing, Austria
| | - Christoph Klivinyi
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Julia Ranftl
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Ala Elhelali
- Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sascha Hammer
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Istvan S Szilagyi
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Helmar Bornemann-Cimenti
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
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Esteve R, Barrado-Moreno V, Ramírez-Maestre C, Serrano-Ibáñez ER, de la Vega R, Ruiz-Párraga GT, Sainero-Tirado G, Fernández Baena M, Jensen M, López-Martínez AE. Psychological profiles and prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal in people with chronic pain. Eur J Pain 2024; 28:943-959. [PMID: 38189159 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The negative consequences of prescription opioid misuse and opioid use disorder make it relevant to identify factors associated with this problem in individuals with chronic pain. This cross-sectional study aimed at identifying subgroups of people with chronic pain based on their psychological profiles, prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. METHODS The sample comprised 185 individuals with chronic pain. We performed hierarchical cluster analysis on impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, pain acceptance, pain intensity, opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. RESULTS The four-cluster solution was the optimal one. Misuse, craving, and anxiety sensitivity were higher among people in the Severe-problems cluster than among people in the other three clusters. Withdrawal was the highest in the High-withdrawal cluster. Impulsivity was higher among people in the Severe-problems and High-withdrawal clusters than those in the Moderate-problems and Mild-problems clusters. Pain acceptance was higher among people in the Mild-problems cluster than among people in the other three clusters. Anxiety sensitivity and misuse were higher among people in the Moderate-problems cluster than among people in the Mild-problems cluster. CONCLUSIONS These results support that impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, and pain acceptance are useful constructs to identify subgroups of people with chronic pain according to their level of prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. The results of this study may help in selecting the early intervention most suitable for each of the identified profiles. SIGNIFICANCE The psychological profile of individuals with chronic pain, prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal is characterized by fearing anxiety-related symptoms due to the catastrophic interpretation of such symptoms and reacting impulsively to negative moods. In contrast, participants with high pain acceptance had less prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. The profiles identified in this study could help clinicians select targets for intervention among profiles with similar needs and facilitate early interventions to prevent opioid misuse onset or aggravation.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Esteve
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - V Barrado-Moreno
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - C Ramírez-Maestre
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - E R Serrano-Ibáñez
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - R de la Vega
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - G T Ruiz-Párraga
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | - G Sainero-Tirado
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
| | | | - M Jensen
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - A E López-Martínez
- Facultad de Psicología y Logopedia, Universidad de Málaga, Andalucía Tech, Málaga, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Málaga (IBIMA), Málaga, Spain
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3
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Finan PH, Hunt C, Keaser ML, Smith K, Lerman S, Bingham CO, Barrett F, Garland EL, Zeidan F, Seminowicz DA. Effects of Savoring Meditation on Positive Emotions and Pain-Related Brain Function: A Mechanistic Randomized Controlled Trial in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024; 25:104478. [PMID: 38244899 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.01.343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Positive emotions are a promising target for intervention in chronic pain, but mixed findings across trials to date suggest that existing interventions may not be optimized to efficiently engage the target. The aim of the current pilot mechanistic randomized controlled trial was to test the effects of a positive emotion-enhancing intervention called Savoring Meditation on pain-related neural and behavioral targets in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Participants included 44 patients with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (n = 29 included in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses), who were randomized to either Savoring Meditation or a Slow Breathing control. Both meditation interventions were brief (four 20-minute sessions). Self-report measures were collected pre-and post-intervention. An fMRI task was conducted at post-intervention, during which participants practiced the meditation technique on which they had been trained while exposed to non-painful and painful thermal stimuli. Savoring significantly reduced experimental pain intensity ratings relative to rest (P < .001). Savoring also increased cerebral blood flow in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and increased connectivity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and caudate during noxious thermal stimulation relative to Slow Breathing (z = 2.3 voxelwise, false discovery rate cluster corrected P = .05). Participants in the Savoring condition also reported significantly increased positive emotions (ps < .05) and reduced anhedonic symptoms (P < .01) from pre- to post-intervention. These findings suggest that Savoring recruits reward-enhancing corticostriatal circuits in the face of pain, and future work should extend these findings to evaluate if these mechanisms of Savoring are associated with improved clinical pain outcomes in diverse patient populations. PERSPECTIVE: Savoring Meditation is a novel positive emotion-enhancing intervention designed for patients with chronic pain. The present findings provide preliminary evidence that Savoring Meditation is acutely analgesic, and engages neural and subjective emotional targets that are relevant to pain self-management. Future work should evaluate the clinical translation of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick H Finan
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Carly Hunt
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA
| | - Michael L Keaser
- Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD; Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
| | - Katie Smith
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Sheera Lerman
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Clifton O Bingham
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | - Frederick Barrett
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Eric L Garland
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
| | - Fadel Zeidan
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - David A Seminowicz
- Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD; Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; Department of Medical Biophysics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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Kapadi R, Elander J, Bateman AH. Emotion Regulation and Psychological Dependence on Pain Medication among Hospital Outpatients with Chronic Spinal Pain: The Influence of Rumination about Pain and Alexithymia. Subst Use Misuse 2024; 59:1047-1058. [PMID: 38485654 DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2320373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Objective: To examine the extent to which pain acceptance, pain catastrophising and alexithymia moderate associations between pain intensity and psychological pain medication dependence. Methods: Participants (106 hospital outpatients with chronic spinal pain) completed the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ) to measure psychological dependence on pain medication, and the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire-8 (CPAQ-8), the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), plus the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Results: Multiple linear regression showed that degree of psychological dependence (measured dimensionally across the range of LDQ scores) was associated with TAS subscale difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) (β = 0.249, p = <0.002) and PCS subscale rumination (β = 0.193, p = 0.030), independently of pain intensity and risk behaviors for medication misuse. The effect of pain intensity was moderated by rumination, with pain intensity more strongly associated with dependence when rumination was high (interaction β = 0.192, p = 0.004). Logistic regression showed that the effect of pain intensity on severe dependence (measured categorically as LDQ score ≥ 20) was moderated by alexithymia, so that severe dependence was independently associated with the combination of intense pain and high alexithymia (interaction odds ratio = 7.26, 95% CIs = 1.63-32.42, p = 0.009). Conclusions: Rumination and alexithymia moderated the associations between pain intensity and psychological pain medication dependence, consistent with emotion regulation theory. This raises the possibility that specifically targeting rumination about pain and symptoms of alexithymia could potentially improve the effectiveness of psychological interventions for chronic pain and help people to avoid or reduce their psychological dependence on pain medication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James Elander
- School of Psychology, University of Derby, Derby, UK
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5
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Szepietowska M, Stefaniak AA, Krajewski PK, Matusiak Ł. Anhedonia in Acne Vulgaris: A Cross-Sectional Study of 104 Consecutive Acne Patients. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol 2024; 17:349-357. [PMID: 38348090 PMCID: PMC10861347 DOI: 10.2147/ccid.s451927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
Background Anhedonia is defined as a reduced ability to experience or even a total loss of pleasure. Purpose This study was undertaken to evaluate anhedonia in 104 consecutive acne patients. Material and Methods Acne severity was assessed with Investigator Global Assessment (IGA), anhedonia was studied with the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) and Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS). Moreover, the quality of life (QoL) and stigmatization, as well as depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - HADS), were additionally evaluated. Results Anhedonia was found in 20.19% of acne patients and was more common (p=0.007) in males (34.29%) than in females (13.04%). Based on SHAPS, males with acne showed significantly (p=0.049) higher levels of anhedonia (2.39 ± 3.18 points) than acne females (1.26 ± 2.36 points). Anhedonia significantly correlated with the clinical acne severity (SHAPS: r=0.205, p=0.038 and ACIPS: r=-0.222, p=0.026). Although the intensity of anhedonia did not show any relationship with QoL and stigmatization assessments, there was a significant correlation between anhedonia and depressive symptoms (SHAPS: r=0.310, p<0.001; ACIPS: r=-0.364, p<0.001). Such dependency was not documented for anxiety. Conclusion Anhedonia seems to be a common phenomenon in acne and should be considered in the holistic approach to acne patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Szepietowska
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Aleksandra A Stefaniak
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Piotr K Krajewski
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Łukasz Matusiak
- Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
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Segura E, Vilà-Balló A, Mallorquí A, Porto MF, Duarte E, Grau-Sánchez J, Rodríguez-Fornells A. The presence of anhedonia in individuals with subacute and chronic stroke: an exploratory cohort study. Front Aging Neurosci 2024; 16:1253028. [PMID: 38384938 PMCID: PMC10880106 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1253028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Anhedonia refers to the diminished capacity to experience pleasure. It has been described both as a symptom of depression and an enduring behavioral trait that contributes its development. Specifically, in stroke patients, anhedonia has been closely linked to depression, resulting in reduced sensitivity to everyday pleasures and intrinsic motivation to engage in rehabilitation programs and maintain a healthy active lifestyle. This condition may hinder patients' recovery, diminishing their autonomy, functioning, and quality of life. Objective We aimed to explore the prevalence and level of anhedonia and those variables that might be associated in patients with both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke at subacute and chronic phases of the disease. Methods We conducted an exploratory cohort study with a sample of 125 patients with subacute and chronic stroke presenting upper-limb motor deficits. We measured participants' level of anhedonia with four items from the Beck Depression Inventory-II that describe the symptoms of this condition: loss of pleasure, loss of interest, loss of energy, and loss of interest in sex. We also collected demographic and clinical information and evaluated motor and cognitive functions as well as levels of depression, apathy, and various mood states. The results were compared to a sample of 71 healthy participants of similar age, sex, and level of education. Results Stroke patients demonstrated a significantly higher prevalence (18.5-19.7%) and level of anhedonia compared to the healthy controls (4.3%), regardless of stroke phase, level of motor impairment, and other clinical variables. Furthermore, post-stroke anhedonia was associated with lower levels of motivation and higher levels of negative mood states such as fatigue and anger in the long term. Importantly, anhedonia level was superior in stroke patients than in healthy controls while controlling for confounding effects of related emotional conditions. Conclusion This study provides novel evidence on the prevalence, level and factors related to anhedonia post-stroke. We emphasize the importance of assessing and treating anhedonia in this population, as well as conducting large-scale cohort and longitudinal studies to test its influence on long-term functional and emotional recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Segura
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adrià Vilà-Balló
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aida Mallorquí
- Clinical Health Psychology Section, Clinic Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - María F. Porto
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Duarte
- Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jennifer Grau-Sánchez
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Research Group on Complex Health Diagnoses and Interventions from Occupation and Care (OCCARE), Escola Universitària d'Infermeria i Teràpia Ocupacional, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain
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Mehsein Z, Kobaïter-Maarrawi S, Samaha H, El Shami M, Albeaini S, Maarrawi J. Right posterior insular epidural stimulation in rats with neuropathic pain induces a frequency-dependent and opioid system-mediated reduction of pain and its comorbid anxiety and depression. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 128:110845. [PMID: 37619765 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a sensory, emotional, and persistent disturbing experience caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory system which can lead when chronic to comorbidities such as anxiety and depression. Available treatments (pharmacotherapy, neurostimulation) have partial and unpredictable response; therefore, it seems necessary to find a new therapeutical approach that could alleviate most related symptoms and improve patients 'emotional state'. Posterior Insula seems to be a potential target of neurostimulation for pain relief. However, its effects on pain-related anxiety and depression remain unknown. Using rats with spared nerve injury (SNI), this study aims to elucidate the correlation between NP and anxio-depressive disorders, evaluate potential analgesic, anxiolytic, and antidepressant effects of right posterior insula stimulation (IS) using low (LF-IS, 50 Hz) or high (HF-IS, 150 Hz) frequency and assess endogenous opioid involvement in these effects. Results showed positive correlation between NP, anxiety, and depression. LF-IS reversed anhedonia and despair-like behavior through pain alleviation, whereas HF-IS only reduced anhedonia, all effects involving endogenous opioids. These findings support the link between NP and anxio-depressive disorders. Moreover, IS appears to have analgesic, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects mediated by the endogenous opioid system, making it a promising target for neurostimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeinab Mehsein
- Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience (LAREN), Pôle Technologie Santé (PTS), Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sandra Kobaïter-Maarrawi
- Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience (LAREN), Pôle Technologie Santé (PTS), Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
| | - Hady Samaha
- Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience (LAREN), Pôle Technologie Santé (PTS), Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Mohamad El Shami
- Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience (LAREN), Pôle Technologie Santé (PTS), Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sylvana Albeaini
- Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience (LAREN), Pôle Technologie Santé (PTS), Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Joseph Maarrawi
- Laboratory of Research in Neuroscience (LAREN), Pôle Technologie Santé (PTS), Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Neurosurgery - Hôtel-Dieu de France Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
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8
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Gorostowicz A, Rizvi SJ, Kennedy SH, Chrobak AA, Dudek D, Cyranka K, Piekarska J, Krawczyk E, Siwek M. Polish adaptation of the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) - validation in the clinical sample. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1268290. [PMID: 37817828 PMCID: PMC10561247 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1268290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Anhedonia is the core symptom of depression. Its presence has been linked to worsened prognosis. The Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS) is a scale measuring desire, motivation, effort and consummatory pleasure across different domains. The aim of this paper was to confirm factor structure, assess reliability and validity of the Polish adaptation of the DARS in a clinical sample of patients with mood disorders and healthy controls (HC). Methods The study sample included 161 participants aged 18-65 years - 34 HC, 72 patients with bipolar disorder and 55 with major depressive disorder (in depressive episode or remission). Reliability of the Polish adaptation of the DARS was assessed using Cronbach's α and the average inter-item correlation (AIC). Convergent and divergent validity was established by Pearson's correlations between the DARS and the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology- self-report (QIDS-SR), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The structure of the scale was examined by factor analysis. Results The factor structure was consistent with the original scale. Strong internal consistency for the DARS total score (Cronbach's α = 0.95) and all subscales (0.86-0.93) was observed. The DARS demonstrated good convergent (moderate to strong correlations with measures of anhedonia and depression) and divergent validity (weak correlations with anxiety level). Conclusion The Polish DARS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and very good validity. The scale is a valuable contribution to the psychometrics of anhedonia measures in patients with mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sakina J. Rizvi
- ASR Suicide and Depression Studies Unit, Department of Psychiatry, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sidney H. Kennedy
- ASR Suicide and Depression Studies Unit, Department of Psychiatry, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Dominika Dudek
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Cyranka
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
| | - Joanna Piekarska
- Department of Psychiatry, The Ludwik Rydygier Specialist Hospital in Cracow, Kraków, Poland
| | - Eve Krawczyk
- Department of Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital in Cracow, Kraków, Poland
| | - Marcin Siwek
- Department of Affective Disorders, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
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9
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Finan PH, Hunt C, Keaser ML, Smith K, Lerman S, Bingham CO, Barrett F, Garland EL, Zeidan F, Seminowicz DA. Effects of Savoring Meditation on Positive Emotions and Pain-Related Brain Function: A Mechanistic Randomized Controlled Trial in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.09.07.23294949. [PMID: 37732231 PMCID: PMC10508795 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.07.23294949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Positive emotions are a promising target for intervention in chronic pain, but mixed findings across trials to date suggest that existing interventions may not be optimized to efficiently engage the target. The aim of the current mechanistic randomized controlled trial was to test the effects of a single skill positive emotion-enhancing intervention called Savoring Meditation on pain-related neural and behavioral targets in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Participants included 44 patients with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of RA (n=29 included in fMRI analyses), who were randomized to either Savoring Meditation or a Slow Breathing control. Both meditation interventions were brief (four 20-minute sessions). Self-report measures were collected pre- and post-intervention. An fMRI task was conducted at post-intervention, during which participants practiced the meditation technique on which they had been trained while exposed to non-painful and painful thermal stimuli. Relative to Slow Breathing, Savoring significantly reduced experimental pain intensity ratings relative to rest (p<.001), increased cerebral blood flow in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and increased connectivity between the vmPFC and caudate during noxious thermal stimulation (z=2.3 voxelwise, FDR cluster corrected p=0.05). Participants in the Savoring condition also reported significantly increased positive emotions (ps<.05) and reduced anhedonic symptoms (p<.01) from pre- to post-intervention. These findings suggest that that Savoring recruits reward-enhancing corticostriatal circuits in the face of pain, and future work should extend these findings to evaluate if these mechanisms of Savoring are associated with improved clinical pain outcomes in diverse patient populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick H. Finan
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | - Carly Hunt
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine
| | - Michael L. Keaser
- Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland School of Dentistry
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland Baltimore
| | - Katie Smith
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | - Sheera Lerman
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | - Clifton O. Bingham
- Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Frederick Barrett
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
| | - Eric L. Garland
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, College of Social Work, University of Utah
| | - Fadel Zeidan
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of California-San Diego
| | - David A. Seminowicz
- Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland School of Dentistry
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland Baltimore
- Department of Medical Biophysics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario
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10
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Cooke ME, Edwards RR, Wheeler GL, Schmitt WA, Nielsen LV, Streck JM, Schuster RM, Potter K, Evins AE, Gilman JM. Pain catastrophizing is associated with reduced neural response to monetary reward. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2023; 4:1129353. [PMID: 37745802 PMCID: PMC10512714 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2023.1129353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Pain catastrophizing, a measure of an individual's negative emotional and cognitive appraisals of pain, has been included as a key treatment target in many psychological interventions for pain. However, the neural correlates of pain catastrophizing have been understudied. Prior neuroimaging evidence suggests that adults with pain show altered reward processing throughout the mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry. Methods In this study, we tested the association between Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) scores and neural activation to the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) reward neuroimaging task in 94 adults reporting a range of pain, insomnia, and mood symptoms. Results Results indicated that PCS score but not pain intensity was significantly associated with blunted activation in the caudate and putamen in response to feedback of successful vs. unsuccessful trials on the MID task. Mediation analyses indicated that PCS score fully mediated the relationship between depression symptoms and reward activation. Discussion These findings provide evidence that pain catastrophizing is independently associated with altered striatal function apart from depression symptoms and pain intensity. Thus, in individuals experiencing pain and/or co- morbid conditions, reward dysfunction is directly related to pain catastrophizing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E. Cooke
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center in Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Robert R. Edwards
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States
| | - Grace L. Wheeler
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center in Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - William A. Schmitt
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center in Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Lindsay V. Nielsen
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Joanna M. Streck
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Randi M. Schuster
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kevin Potter
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - A. Eden Evins
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jodi M. Gilman
- Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center in Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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11
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Macchia L, Daly M, Delaney L. The effect of adverse employment circumstances on physical pain: Evidence from Australian panel data. Prev Med 2023; 173:107574. [PMID: 37331489 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Physical pain is a common health problem with great public health implications. Yet evidence on whether adverse employment circumstances shape physical pain is limited. Using longitudinal data from 20 waves (2001-2020) from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (HILDA; N = 23,748), a lagged design, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions as well as multilevel mixed effect linear regressions, we investigated the association between past accumulated unemployment and recent employment circumstances with physical pain. We found that adults who spent more years unemployed and looking for work subsequently reported greater physical pain (b = 0.034, 95% CI = 0.023, 0.044) and pain interference (b = 0.031, 95% CI = 0.022, 0.038) than those who spent fewer years unemployed. We also found that those experiencing overemployment (working full-time while wanting to work fewer hours) and underemployment (working part-time while wanting to work more hours) reported greater subsequent physical pain (overemployment: b = 0.024, 95% CI = 0.009, 0.039; underemployment: b = 0.036, 95% CI = 0.014, 0.057) and pain interference (overemployment: b = 0.017, 95% CI = 0.005, 0.028; underemployment: b = 0.026, 95% CI = 0.009, 0.043) than those content with their working hours. These results held after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, occupation, and other health-related factors. These findings are consistent with recent work that suggested that psychological distress can influence physical pain. Understanding how adverse employment circumstances impact physical pain is crucial to the design of health promotion policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Macchia
- School of Health & Psychological Sciences, City, University of London, London, UK.
| | - Michael Daly
- Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Liam Delaney
- Department of Psychological & Behavioural Science, London School of Economics & Political Science, London, UK
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12
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Garland EL, Fix ST, Hudak JP, Bernat EM, Nakamura Y, Hanley AW, Donaldson GW, Marchand WR, Froeliger B. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement remediates anhedonia in chronic opioid use by enhancing neurophysiological responses during savoring of natural rewards. Psychol Med 2023; 53:2085-2094. [PMID: 37310337 PMCID: PMC10106294 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721003834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuropsychopharmacologic effects of long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) in the context of chronic pain may result in subjective anhedonia coupled with decreased attention to natural rewards. Yet, there are no known efficacious treatments for anhedonia and reward deficits associated with chronic opioid use. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a novel behavioral intervention combining training in mindfulness with savoring of natural rewards, may hold promise for treating anhedonia in LTOT. METHODS Veterans receiving LTOT (N = 63) for chronic pain were randomized to 8 weeks of MORE or a supportive group (SG) psychotherapy control. Before and after the 8-week treatment groups, we assessed the effects of MORE on the late positive potential (LPP) of the electroencephalogram and skin conductance level (SCL) during viewing and up-regulating responses (i.e. savoring) to natural reward cues. We then examined whether these neurophysiological effects were associated with reductions in subjective anhedonia by 4-month follow-up. RESULTS Patients treated with MORE demonstrated significantly increased LPP and SCL to natural reward cues and greater decreases in subjective anhedonia relative to those in the SG. The effect of MORE on reducing anhedonia was statistically mediated by increases in LPP response during savoring. CONCLUSIONS MORE enhances motivated attention to natural reward cues among chronic pain patients on LTOT, as evidenced by increased electrocortical and sympathetic nervous system responses. Given neurophysiological evidence of clinical target engagement, MORE may be an efficacious treatment for anhedonia among chronic opioid users, people with chronic pain, and those at risk for opioid use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric L. Garland
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Veterans Health Care Administration VISN 19 Whole Health Flagship site located at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Justin P. Hudak
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | | | - Yoshio Nakamura
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, Pain Research Center, University of Utah School of Medicine
| | - Adam W. Hanley
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Gary W. Donaldson
- Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, Pain Research Center, University of Utah School of Medicine
| | - William R. Marchand
- Veterans Health Care Administration VISN 19 Whole Health Flagship site located at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah School of Medicine
| | - Brett Froeliger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Missouri
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13
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Nass SR, Hahn YK, Ohene-Nyako M, McLane VD, Damaj MI, Thacker LR, Knapp PE, Hauser KF. Depressive-like Behavior Is Accompanied by Prefrontal Cortical Innate Immune Fatigue and Dendritic Spine Losses after HIV-1 Tat and Morphine Exposure. Viruses 2023; 15:v15030590. [PMID: 36992299 PMCID: PMC10052300 DOI: 10.3390/v15030590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD) and HIV are comorbid epidemics that can increase depression. HIV and the viral protein Tat can directly induce neuronal injury within reward and emotionality brain circuitry, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Such damage involves both excitotoxic mechanisms and more indirect pathways through neuroinflammation, both of which can be worsened by opioid co-exposure. To assess whether excitotoxicity and/or neuroinflammation might drive depressive behaviors in persons infected with HIV (PWH) and those who use opioids, male mice were exposed to HIV-1 Tat for eight weeks, given escalating doses of morphine during the last two weeks, and assessed for depressive-like behavior. Tat expression decreased sucrose consumption and adaptability, whereas morphine administration increased chow consumption and exacerbated Tat-induced decreases in nesting and burrowing—activities associated with well-being. Across all treatment groups, depressive-like behavior correlated with increased proinflammatory cytokines in the PFC. Nevertheless, supporting the theory that innate immune responses adapt to chronic Tat exposure, most proinflammatory cytokines were unaffected by Tat or morphine. Further, Tat increased PFC levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which were exacerbated by morphine administration. Tat, but not morphine, decreased dendritic spine density on layer V pyramidal neurons in the anterior cingulate. Together, our findings suggest that HIV-1 Tat and morphine differentially induce depressive-like behaviors associated with increased neuroinflammation, synaptic losses, and immune fatigue within the PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara R. Nass
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA
| | - Yun K. Hahn
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0709, USA
| | - Michael Ohene-Nyako
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA
| | - Virginia D. McLane
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA
| | - M. Imad Damaj
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA
| | - Leroy R. Thacker
- Department of Biostatistics, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23219, USA
| | - Pamela E. Knapp
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0709, USA
- Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0059, USA
| | - Kurt F. Hauser
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0709, USA
- Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0059, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-804-628-7579; Fax: +1-804-828-0676
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14
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Edwards RR, Schreiber KL, Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Baron R, Freeman R, Jensen TS, Latremoliere A, Markman JD, Rice ASC, Rowbotham M, Staud R, Tate S, Woolf CJ, Andrews NA, Carr DB, Colloca L, Cosma-Roman D, Cowan P, Diatchenko L, Farrar J, Gewandter JS, Gilron I, Kerns RD, Marchand S, Niebler G, Patel KV, Simon LS, Tockarshewsky T, Vanhove GF, Vardeh D, Walco GA, Wasan AD, Wesselmann U. Optimizing and Accelerating the Development of Precision Pain Treatments for Chronic Pain: IMMPACT Review and Recommendations. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2023; 24:204-225. [PMID: 36198371 PMCID: PMC10868532 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Large variability in the individual response to even the most-efficacious pain treatments is observed clinically, which has led to calls for a more personalized, tailored approach to treating patients with pain (ie, "precision pain medicine"). Precision pain medicine, currently an aspirational goal, would consist of empirically based algorithms that determine the optimal treatments, or treatment combinations, for specific patients (ie, targeting the right treatment, in the right dose, to the right patient, at the right time). Answering this question of "what works for whom" will certainly improve the clinical care of patients with pain. It may also support the success of novel drug development in pain, making it easier to identify novel treatments that work for certain patients and more accurately identify the magnitude of the treatment effect for those subgroups. Significant preliminary work has been done in this area, and analgesic trials are beginning to utilize precision pain medicine approaches such as stratified allocation on the basis of prespecified patient phenotypes using assessment methodologies such as quantitative sensory testing. Current major challenges within the field include: 1) identifying optimal measurement approaches to assessing patient characteristics that are most robustly and consistently predictive of inter-patient variation in specific analgesic treatment outcomes, 2) designing clinical trials that can identify treatment-by-phenotype interactions, and 3) selecting the most promising therapeutics to be tested in this way. This review surveys the current state of precision pain medicine, with a focus on drug treatments (which have been most-studied in a precision pain medicine context). It further presents a set of evidence-based recommendations for accelerating the application of precision pain methods in chronic pain research. PERSPECTIVE: Given the considerable variability in treatment outcomes for chronic pain, progress in precision pain treatment is critical for the field. An array of phenotypes and mechanisms contribute to chronic pain; this review summarizes current knowledge regarding which treatments are most effective for patients with specific biopsychosocial characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dennis C Turk
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Ralf Baron
- Division of Neurological Pain Research and Therapy, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Arnold-Heller-Straße 3, House D, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Roy Freeman
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Nick A Andrews
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California
| | | | | | | | - Penney Cowan
- American Chronic Pain Association, Rocklin, California
| | - Luda Diatchenko
- Department of Anesthesia and Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, California
| | - John Farrar
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | - Robert D Kerns
- Yale University, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Psychology, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | | | - Kushang V Patel
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | | | | | | | | | - Gary A Walco
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Ajay D Wasan
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Ursula Wesselmann
- Department of Anesthesiology/Division of Pain Medicine, Neurology and Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
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15
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Tandon T, Piccolo M, Ledermann K, Gupta R, Morina N, Martin-Soelch C. Relationship between behavioral and mood responses to monetary rewards in a sample of Indian students with and without reported pain. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20242. [PMID: 36424426 PMCID: PMC9691709 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24821-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Physical pain has become a major health problem with many university students affected by it worldwide each year. Several studies have examined the prevalence of pain-related impairments in reward processing in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries but none of the studies have replicated these findings in a non-western cultural setting. Here, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of physical pain symptoms in a sample of university students in India and replicate our previous study conducted on university students in Switzerland, which showed reduced mood and behavioral responses to reward in students with significant pain symptoms. We grouped students into a sub-clinical (N = 40) and a control group (N = 48) to test the association between pain symptoms and reward processes. We used the Fribourg reward task and the pain sub-scale of the Symptom Checklist (SCL-27-plus) to assess physical symptoms of pain. We found that 45% of the students reported high levels of physical symptoms of pain and interestingly, our ANOVA results did not show any significant interaction between reward and the groups either for mood scores or for outcomes related to performance. These results might yield the first insights that pain-related impairment is not a universal phenomenon and can vary across cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya Tandon
- grid.8534.a0000 0004 0478 1713Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland ,grid.8534.a0000 0004 0478 1713Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Mayron Piccolo
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
| | - Katharina Ledermann
- grid.8534.a0000 0004 0478 1713Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland ,grid.7400.30000 0004 1937 0650Department of Consultation-Liaison-Psychiatry, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rashmi Gupta
- grid.417971.d0000 0001 2198 7527Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Naser Morina
- grid.7400.30000 0004 1937 0650Department of Consultation-Liaison-Psychiatry, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Chantal Martin-Soelch
- grid.8534.a0000 0004 0478 1713Unit of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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16
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Mallorquí A, Martínez-Zamora MA, Carmona F. Anhedonia in endometriosis: An unexplored symptom. Front Psychol 2022; 13:935349. [PMID: 36118502 PMCID: PMC9481352 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.935349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Anhedonia is the diminished motivation and sensitivity to pleasurable stimuli. It has been reported to be more prevalent in patients with chronic pain as compared to healthy controls. Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory systemic disease with a significant psychosocial impact that compromises wellbeing and the day-to-day life of patients. Women with endometriosis show significant psychological distress, even more pervasive when chronic pelvic pain is present. In the current review we will discuss the role of anhedonia in endometriotic chronic pelvic pain. We will also present new lines of research that could lead to more fully clarifying the psychological impact of endometriosis and its detrimental repercussions to quality of life and mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Mallorquí
- Clinical Health Psychology Section, Institute of Neuroscience (ICN), Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - María-Angeles Martínez-Zamora
- Department of Gynecology, Clinic Institute of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Neonatology, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Institut d´Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
- *Correspondence: María-Angeles Martínez-Zamora,
| | - Francisco Carmona
- Department of Gynecology, Clinic Institute of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Neonatology, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Institut d´Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
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17
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Parikh A, Moeller SJ, Garland EL. Simulated opioid choice linked to opioid use disorder severity among veterans with chronic pain: initial validation of a novel paradigm. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE 2022; 48:403-412. [PMID: 35100056 PMCID: PMC9339010 DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2021.2007258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Background: Modeling addictive behavior among individuals with, or at risk for, opioid use disorder (OUD) in a way that is accurate, ethical, and reproducible presents a pressing concern. OUD risk is elevated among people with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy (LTOT).Objectives: To provide initial validation of a novel opioid preference task as an index of OUD and its symptomatology among veterans prescribed opioids for chronic pain, a population at high risk for poor opioid-related outcomes. The relative ease by which such a paradigm can be implemented and performed in clinical contexts, including enabling investigation of opioid reinforcement and drug-seeking behavior while avoiding ethical pitfalls associated with direct drug administration, could make this task an attractive approach for potentially tracking OUD symptoms.Methods: We studied 87 veterans (74 males, 13 females) on LTOT for chronic pain - 33 of whom had OUD diagnoses. Participants completed a picture-viewing choice task to assess preference for viewing opioid-related images in comparison with standardized pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, and blank images. Opioid-related choice, measured by vigor of button pressing, was tested for association with OUD severity (measured by symptom counts), as well as craving and anhedonia.Results: Choice for opioid-related images was positively correlated with OUD severity (i.e., number of DSM-5 measured OUD symptoms) (r = 0.38, p < .001), particularly among those meeting diagnostic criteria for OUD (r = 0.47, p = .006). Neither craving nor anhedonia correlated with opioid-related choice.Conclusions: Our results provide initial validation for a new opioid picture-choice paradigm in patients with chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apurva Parikh
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Scott J. Moeller
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Eric L. Garland
- University of Utah Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, Salt Lake City, UT
- College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
- Veterans Health Care Administration VISN 19 Whole Health Flagship site located at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT
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18
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de la Puente B, Zamanillo D, Romero L, Carceller A, Vela JM, Merlos M, Portillo-Salido E. Comprehensive Preclinical Assessment of Sensory, Functional, Motivational-Affective, and Neurochemical Outcomes in Neuropathic Pain: The Case of the Sigma-1 Receptor. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2022; 5:240-254. [PMID: 35434530 PMCID: PMC9003638 DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.2c00005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Chronic pain remains a major health problem and is currently facing slow drug innovation. New drug treatments should address not only the sensory-discriminative but also functional and motivational-affective components of chronic pain. In a mouse model of neuropathic pain induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL), we analyzed sensory and functional-like outcomes by hindpaw mechanical stimulation and automated gait analysis (CatWalk). We characterized over time a reward-seeking task based on diminished motivation for natural reinforcers (anhedonic-like behavior). To differentiate the appetitive ("wanting") and consummatory ("liking") aspects of motivational behavior, we quantified the latency and number of approaches to eat white chocolate, as well as the eating duration and amount consumed. We explored a putative chronic pain-induced dysregulation of monoamine function by measuring monoamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a well-known brain reward area. Finally, we investigated the role of sigma-1 receptor (σ1R) modulation, a nonopioid target, in these multiple dimensions by genetic deletion and pharmacological dose-response studies. After 6 weeks, PSNL increased the approach latency and reduced the consumption of white chocolate in 20-25% of the mice, while around 50-60% had one or the other parameter affected independently. After 10 weeks, sham-operated mice also displayed anhedonic-like behavior. PSNL was associated with reduced extracellular baseline dopamine and increased norepinephrine in the NAc and with a suppression of increased dopamine and serotonin efflux in response to the rewarding stimulus. Genetic and pharmacological blockade of σ1R relieved these multiple alterations in nerve-injured mice. We comprehensively describe sensory, functional, and depression-like impairment of key components of motivated behavior associated with nerve injury. We provide a neurochemical substrate for the depressed mesocorticolimbic reward processing in chronic pain, with a potentially increased translational value. Our results also highlight σ1R for the therapeutic intervention of neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Zamanillo
- Welab Barcelona, Parc Científic de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luz Romero
- Welab Barcelona, Parc Científic de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alicia Carceller
- Welab Barcelona, Parc Científic de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - José Miguel Vela
- Welab Barcelona, Parc Científic de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manuel Merlos
- Welab Barcelona, Parc Científic de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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19
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Chronic pain precedes disrupted eating behavior in low-back pain patients. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263527. [PMID: 35143525 PMCID: PMC8830732 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic pain is associated with anhedonia and decreased motivation. These behavioral alterations have been linked to alterations in the limbic brain and could explain the increased risk for obesity in pain patients. The mechanism of these behavioral changes and how they set in in relation to the development of chronic pain remain however poorly understood. Here we asked how eating behavior was affected in low-back pain patients before and after they transitioned to chronic pain, compared to patients whose pain subsided. Additionally, we assessed how the hedonic perception of fat-rich food, which is altered in chronic pain patients, related to the properties of the nucleus accumbens in this patients' population. We hypothesized that the accumbens would be directly implicated in the hedonic processing of fat-rich food in pain patients because of its well-established role in hedonic feeding and fat ingestion, and its emerging role in chronic pain. Accordingly, we used behavioral assays and structural brain imaging to test sub-acute back pain patients (SBP) and healthy control subjects at baseline and at approximately one-year follow-up. We also studied a sample of chronic low-back pain patients (CLBP) at one time point only. We found that SBP patients who recovered at follow-up (SBPr) and CLBP patients showed disrupted eating behaviors. In contrast, SBP patients who persisted in having pain at follow-up (SBPp) showed intact eating behavior. From a neurological standpoint, only SBPp and CLBP patients showed a strong and direct relationship between hedonic perception of fat-rich food and nucleus accumbens volume. This suggests that accumbens alterations observed in SBPp patients in previous works might protect them from hedonic eating disruptions during the early course of the illness. We conclude that disrupted eating behavior specifically sets in after pain chronification and is accompanied by structural changes in the nucleus accumbens.
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Doctor JN, Sullivan MD. Knowledge Translation and the Opioid Crisis. Am J Public Health 2022; 112:S15-S17. [PMID: 35143265 PMCID: PMC8842211 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2021.306670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason N Doctor
- Jason N. Doctor is with the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Mark D. Sullivan is with the School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Mark D Sullivan
- Jason N. Doctor is with the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Mark D. Sullivan is with the School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
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21
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Zhang Z, Gewandter JS, Geha P. Brain Imaging Biomarkers for Chronic Pain. Front Neurol 2022; 12:734821. [PMID: 35046881 PMCID: PMC8763372 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.734821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of chronic pain has reached epidemic levels. In addition to personal suffering chronic pain is associated with psychiatric and medical co-morbidities, notably substance misuse, and a huge a societal cost amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars annually in medical cost, lost wages, and productivity. Chronic pain does not have a cure or quantitative diagnostic or prognostic tools. In this manuscript we provide evidence that this situation is about to change. We first start by summarizing our current understanding of the role of the brain in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. We particularly focus on the concept of learning in the emergence of chronic pain, and the implication of the limbic brain circuitry and dopaminergic signaling, which underly emotional learning and decision making, in this process. Next, we summarize data from our labs and from other groups on the latest brain imaging findings in different chronic pain conditions focusing on results with significant potential for translation into clinical applications. The gaps in the study of chronic pain and brain imaging are highlighted in throughout the overview. Finally, we conclude by discussing the costs and benefits of using brain biomarkers of chronic pain and compare to other potential markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengwu Zhang
- Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Jennifer S Gewandter
- Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Paul Geha
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.,Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.,Del Monte Neuroscience Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States
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22
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de Abreu MS, Costa F, Giacomini ACVV, Demin KA, Zabegalov KN, Maslov GO, Kositsyn YM, Petersen EV, Strekalova T, Rosemberg DB, Kalueff AV. Towards Modeling Anhedonia and Its Treatment in Zebrafish. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 25:293-306. [PMID: 34918075 PMCID: PMC9017771 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Mood disorders, especially depression, are a major cause of human disability. The loss of pleasure (anhedonia) is a common, severely debilitating symptom of clinical depression. Experimental animal models are widely used to better understand depression pathogenesis and to develop novel antidepressant therapies. In rodents, various experimental models of anhedonia have already been developed and extensively validated. Complementing rodent studies, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a powerful model organism to assess pathobiological mechanisms of affective disorders, including depression. Here, we critically discuss the potential of zebrafish for modeling anhedonia and studying its molecular mechanisms and translational implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murilo S de Abreu
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China,Bioscience Institute, University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil,Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology and Neurobiology, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Fabiano Costa
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Natural and Exact Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Ana C V V Giacomini
- Bioscience Institute, University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil,Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences, University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil
| | - Konstantin A Demin
- Drug Screening Platform, School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China,Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia,Institute of Experimental Medicine, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Gleb O Maslov
- Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia,Neurobiology Program, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia
| | - Yuriy M Kositsyn
- Neurobiology Program, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, Russia
| | - Elena V Petersen
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology and Neurobiology, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Tatiana Strekalova
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Maastricht Medical Center Annadal, Maastricht, Netherlands,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maasticht, the Netherlands,Laboratory of Psychiatric Neurobiology, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Department of Normal Physiology, Sechenov 1st Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia,Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Denis B Rosemberg
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Toxicological Biochemistry, Natural and Exact Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Natural and Exact Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China,Drug Screening Platform, School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China,Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia,Russian Research Center of Radiology and Surgical Technologies, Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, Russia,Institute of Experimental Medicine, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, St. Petersburg, Russia,Novosibirsk State University, Novosibisk, Russia,Scientific Research Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russia,Correspondence: Allan V. Kalueff, PhD, School of Pharmacy, Southwest University, Chongqing, China ()
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Weigand R, Moosmayer A, Jacobsen T. Does self-reported chronic pain influence savoring of aesthetic experiences? PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259198. [PMID: 34767583 PMCID: PMC8589147 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aesthetic experiences elicit a wide range of positive emotions and have a positive impact on various health outcomes. In this context, savoring refers to a cognitive form of emotion regulation used to maintain and extend positive emotional experiences and is considered to contribute to health and well-being. Chronic pain has been linked to reduced reward-seeking behavior. This is the first study to investigate the relationship between self-reported chronic pain and savoring. METHODS We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey in a large non-clinical sample (opera, theater, and cabaret visitors; n = 322). The variables were assessed with a two-item-questionnaire. RESULTS Self-reported chronic pain was significantly negatively correlated with savoring (r = -.547). CONCLUSION Altogether, this result helps to develop a better understanding of the effects of chronic pain in humans and to shed light on state-dependent differences in aesthetic experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalie Weigand
- Experimental Psychology Unit, Humanities and Social Sciences, Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Annika Moosmayer
- Experimental Psychology Unit, Humanities and Social Sciences, Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Jacobsen
- Experimental Psychology Unit, Humanities and Social Sciences, Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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24
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Day-to-day hedonic and calming effects of opioids, opioid craving, and opioid misuse among patients with chronic pain prescribed long-term opioid therapy. Pain 2021; 162:2214-2224. [PMID: 33729213 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Concerns have been raised regarding the misuse of opioids among patients with chronic pain. Although a number of factors may contribute to opioid misuse, research has yet to examine if the hedonic and calming effects that can potentially accompany the use of opioids contribute to opioid misuse. The first objective of this study was to examine the degree to which the hedonic and calming effects of opioids contribute to opioid misuse in patients with chronic pain. We also examined whether the hedonic and calming effects of opioids contribute to patients' daily levels of opioid craving, and whether these associations were moderated by patients' daily levels of pain intensity, catastrophizing, negative affect, or positive affect. In this longitudinal diary study, patients (n = 103) prescribed opioid therapy completed daily diaries for 14 consecutive days. Diaries assessed a host of pain, psychological, and opioid-related variables. The hedonic and calming effects of opioids were not significantly associated with any type of opioid misuse behavior. However, greater hedonic and calming effects were associated with heightened reports of opioid craving (both P's < 0.005). Analyses revealed that these associations were moderated by patients' daily levels of pain intensity, catastrophizing, and negative affect (all P's < 0.001). Results from this study provide valuable new insights into our understanding of factors that may contribute to opioid craving among patients with chronic pain who are prescribed long-term opioid therapy. The implications of our findings for the management of patients with chronic pain are discussed.
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25
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Garland EL. Mindful Positive Emotion Regulation as a Treatment for Addiction: From Hedonic Pleasure to Self-Transcendent Meaning. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2021; 39:168-177. [PMID: 34084873 PMCID: PMC8168946 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Chronic drug use is theorized to induce cortico-striatal neuroplasticity, driving an allostatic process marked by increased sensitivity to drug-related cues and decreased sensitivity to natural rewards that results in anhedonia and a dearth of positive affect. As such, positive emotion regulation represents a key mechanistic target for addictions treatment. This paper provides a conceptual model detailing how mindfulness may synergize a range of positive affective mechanisms to reduce addictive behavior, from savoring the hedonic pleasure derived from natural rewards, to self-generating interoceptive reward responses, and ultimately to cultivating self-transcendent meaning. These therapeutic processes may restructure reward processing from over-valuation of drug-related rewards back to valuation of natural rewards, and hypothetically, "reset" the default mode network dysfunction that undergirds addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric L. Garland
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, USA
- College of Social Work, University of Utah, USA
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26
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TRPV1 Responses in the Cerebellum Lobules VI, VII, VIII Using Electroacupuncture Treatment for Chronic Pain and Depression Comorbidity in a Murine Model. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22095028. [PMID: 34068557 PMCID: PMC8126051 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22095028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Depression is a prominent complex psychiatric disorder, usually complicated through expression of comorbid conditions, with chronic pain being among the most prevalent. This comorbidity is consistently associated with a poor prognosis and has been shown to negatively impact patient outcomes. With a global rise in this condition presenting itself, the importance of discovering long-term, effective, and affordable treatments is crucial. Electroacupuncture has demonstrated renowned success in its use for the treatment of pain and is a widely recognized therapy in clinical practice for the treatment of various psychosomatic disorders, most notably depression. Our study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of Acid-Saline (AS) inducing states of chronic pain and depression comorbidity in the cerebellum, using the ST36 acupoint as the therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, the role of TRPV1 was relatedly explored through the use of TRPV1−/− mice (KO). The results indicated significant differences in the four behavioral tests used to characterize pain and depression states in mice. The AS and AS + SHAM group showed significant differences when compared to the Control and AS + EA groups in the von Frey and Hargreaves’s tests, as well as the Open-Field and Forced Swimming tests. This evidence was further substantiated in the protein levels observed in immunoblotting, with significant differences between the AS and AS + SHAM groups when compared to the AS + EA and AS + KO groups being identified. In addition, immunofluorescence visibly served to corroborate the quantitative outcomes. Conclusively these findings suggest that AS-induced chronic pain and depression comorbidity elicits changes in the cerebellum lobules VI, VII, VIII, which are ameliorated through the use of EA at ST36 via its action on TRPV1 and related molecular pathways. The action of TRPV1 is not singular in CPDC, which would suggest other potential targets such as acid-sensing ion channel subtype 3 (ASIC3) or voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) that could be explored in future studies.
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27
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Meier IM, Eikemo M, Leknes S. The Role of Mu-Opioids for Reward and Threat Processing in Humans: Bridging the Gap from Preclinical to Clinical Opioid Drug Studies. CURRENT ADDICTION REPORTS 2021; 8:306-318. [PMID: 34722114 PMCID: PMC8550464 DOI: 10.1007/s40429-021-00366-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Opioid receptors are widely expressed in the human brain. A number of features commonly associated with drug use disorder, such as difficulties in emotional learning, emotion regulation and anhedonia, have been linked to endogenous opioid signalling. Whereas chronic substance use and misuse are thought to alter the function of the mu-opioid system, the specific mechanisms are not well understood. We argue that understanding exogenous and endogenous opioid effects in the healthy human brain is an essential foundation for bridging preclinical and clinical findings related to opioid misuse. Here, we will examine psychopharmacological evidence to outline the role of the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) system in the processing of threat and reward, and discuss how disruption of these processes by chronic opioid use might alter emotional learning and reward responsiveness. RECENT FINDINGS In healthy people, studies using opioid antagonist drugs indicate that the brain's endogenous opioids downregulate fear reactivity and upregulate learning from safety. At the same time, endogenous opioids increase the liking of and motivation to engage with high reward value cues. Studies of acute opioid agonist effects indicate that with non-sedative doses, drugs such as morphine and buprenorphine can mimic endogenous opioid effects on liking and wanting. Disruption of endogenous opioid signalling due to prolonged opioid exposure is associated with some degree of anhedonia to non-drug rewards; however, new results leave open the possibility that this is not directly opioid-mediated. SUMMARY The available human psychopharmacological evidence indicates that the healthy mu-opioid system contributes to the regulation of reward and threat processing. Overall, endogenous opioids can subtly increase liking and wanting responses to a wide variety of rewards, from sweet tastes to feelings of being connected to close others. For threat-related processing, human evidence suggests that endogenous opioids inhibit fear conditioning and reduce the sensitivity to aversive stimuli, although inconsistencies remain. The size of effects reported in healthy humans are however modest, clearly indicating that MORs play out their role in close concert with other neurotransmitter systems. Relevant candidate systems for future research include dopamine, serotonin and endocannabinoid signalling. Nevertheless, it is possible that endogenous opioid fine-tuning of reward and threat processing, when unbalanced by e.g. opioid misuse, could over time develop into symptoms associated with opioid use disorder, such as anhedonia and depression/anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabell M. Meier
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Marie Eikemo
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway
| | - Siri Leknes
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Sognsvannsveien 20, 0372 Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway
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28
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Hudak J, Prince KC, Marchand WR, Nakamura Y, Hanley AW, Bryan CJ, Froeliger B, Garland EL. The temporal dynamics of emotion dysregulation in prescription opioid misuse. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 104:110024. [PMID: 32589895 PMCID: PMC7484236 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Opioid misuse is theorized to compromise the capacity to regulate positive and negative emotions. Yet, the temporal dynamics of emotion dysregulation in opioid misuse remain unclear. METHODS Patients with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy (N = 71) participated in an experiment in which they completed an event-related emotion regulation task while heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin responses (GSR) were recorded over a 5 s emotional picture viewing period. Participants were asked to passively view the images or to proactively regulate their emotional responses via reappraisal (i.e., negative emotion regulation) and savoring (i.e., positive emotion regulation) strategies. Using a validated cutpoint on the Current Opioid Misuse Measure, participants were classified as medication-adherent or opioid misusers. RESULTS Medication-adherent patients were able to significantly decrease GSR and HR during negative emotion regulation, whereas opioid misusers exhibited contradictory increases in these autonomic parameters during negative emotion regulation. Furthermore, GSR during positive emotion regulation increased for non-misusers, whereas GSR during positive emotion regulation did not increase for misusers. These autonomic differences, which remained significant even after controlling for a range of covariates, were evident within 1 s of emotional stimulus presentation but reached their maxima 3-4 s later. CONCLUSIONS Opioid misuse among people with chronic pain is associated with emotion dysregulation that occurs within the first few seconds of an emotional provocation. Treatments for opioid misuse should aim to remediate these deficits in emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Hudak
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, United States of America,College of Social Work, University of Utah, United States of America
| | - Kort C. Prince
- College of Social Work, University of Utah, United States of America
| | - William R. Marchand
- Veterans Health Care Administration VISN 19 Whole Health Flagship site, VA, Salt Lake City Healthcare System, United States of America,Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Yoshio Nakamura
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, United States of America,Pain Research Center, Division of Pain Medicine, Dept. of Anesthesiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Adam W. Hanley
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, United States of America,College of Social Work, University of Utah, United States of America
| | - Craig J. Bryan
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, United States of America
| | - Brett Froeliger
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, United States of America
| | - Eric L. Garland
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, University of Utah, United States of America,College of Social Work, University of Utah, United States of America,Veterans Health Care Administration VISN 19 Whole Health Flagship site, VA, Salt Lake City Healthcare System, United States of America,Corresponding author at: 395 South, 1500 East, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States of America
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29
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Wei HL, Chen J, Chen YC, Yu YS, Guo X, Zhou GP, Zhou QQ, He ZZ, Yang L, Yin X, Li J, Zhang H. Impaired effective functional connectivity of the sensorimotor network in interictal episodic migraineurs without aura. J Headache Pain 2020; 21:111. [PMID: 32928098 PMCID: PMC7489040 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-020-01176-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) has confirmed sensorimotor network (SMN) dysfunction in migraine without aura (MwoA). However, the underlying mechanisms of SMN effective functional connectivity in MwoA remain unclear. We aimed to explore the association between clinical characteristics and effective functional connectivity in SMN, in interictal patients who have MwoA. Methods We used Rs-fMRI to acquire imaging data in 40 episodic patients with MwoA in the interictal phase and 34 healthy controls (HCs). Independent component analysis was used to profile the distribution of SMN and calculate the different SMN activity between the two groups. Subsequently, Granger causality analysis was used to analyze the effective functional connectivity between the SMN and other brain regions. Results Compared to the HCs, MwoA patients showed higher activity in the bilateral postcentral gyri (PoCG), but lower activity in the left midcingulate cortex (MCC). Moreover, MwoA patients showed decreased effective functional connectivity from the SMN to left middle temporal gyrus, right putamen, left insula and bilateral precuneus, but increased effective functional connectivity to the right paracentral lobule. There was also significant effective functional connectivity from the primary visual cortex, right cuneus and right putamen to the SMN. In the interictal period, there was positive correlation between the activity of the right PoCG and the frequency of headache. The disease duration was positively correlated with abnormal effective functional connectivity from the left PoCG to right precuneus. In addition, the headache impact scores were negatively correlated with abnormal effective functional connectivity from the left MCC to right paracentral lobule, as well as from the right precuneus to left PoCG. Conclusions These differential, resting-state functional activities of the SMN in episodic MwoA may contribute to the understanding of migraine-related intra- and internetwork imbalances associated with nociceptive regulation and chronification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng-Le Wei
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu-Chen Chen
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, No.68, Changle Road, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yu-Sheng Yu
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xi Guo
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Gang-Ping Zhou
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qing-Qing Zhou
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhen-Zhen He
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lian Yang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xindao Yin
- Department of Radiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, No.68, Changle Road, Nanjing, 210006, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Junrong Li
- Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Hong Zhang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Jiangning Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211100, Jiangsu, China.
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Aaron RV, Finan PH, Wegener ST, Keefe FJ, Lumley MA. Emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic factor underlying co-occurring chronic pain and problematic opioid use. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2020; 75:796-810. [PMID: 32915024 PMCID: PMC8100821 DOI: 10.1037/amp0000678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Chronic pain is a common and costly condition, and some people with chronic pain engage in problematic opioid use. There is a critical need to identify factors underlying this co-occurrence, so that treatment can be targeted to improve outcomes. We propose that difficulty with emotion regulation (ER) is a transdiagnostic factor that underlies the co-occurrence of chronic pain and problematic opioid use (CP-POU). In this narrative review, we draw from prominent models of ER to summarize the literature characterizing ER in chronic pain and CP-POU. We conclude that chronic pain is associated with various ER difficulties, including emotion identification and the up- and down-regulation of both positive and negative emotion. Little research has examined ER specifically in CP-POU; however, initial evidence suggests CP-POU is characterized by difficulties with ER that are similar to those found in chronic pain more generally. There is great potential to expand the treatment of ER to improve pain-related outcomes in chronic pain and CP-POU. More research is needed, however, to elucidate ER in CP-POU and to determine which types of ER strategies are optimal for different clinical presentations and categories of problematic opioid use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel V Aaron
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Patrick H Finan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Stephen T Wegener
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University
| | - Francis J Keefe
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University
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Trøstheim M, Eikemo M, Meir R, Hansen I, Paul E, Kroll SL, Garland EL, Leknes S. Assessment of Anhedonia in Adults With and Without Mental Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3:e2013233. [PMID: 32789515 PMCID: PMC7116156 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.13233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Anhedonia, a reduced capacity for pleasure, is described for many psychiatric and neurologic conditions. However, a decade after the Research Domain Criteria launch, whether anhedonia severity differs between diagnoses is still unclear. Reference values for hedonic capacity in healthy humans are also needed. OBJECTIVE To generate and compare reference values for anhedonia levels in adults with and without mental illness. DATA SOURCES Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar were used to list all articles from January 1, 1995 to July 2, 2019, citing the scale development report of a widely used anhedonia questionnaire, the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS). Searches were conducted from April 5 to 11, 2018, and on July 2, 2019. STUDY SELECTION Studies including healthy patients and those with a verified diagnosis, assessed at baseline or in a no-treatment condition with the complete 14-item SHAPS, were included in this preregistered meta-analysis. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Random-effects models were used to calculate mean SHAPS scores and 95% CIs separately for healthy participants and patients with current major depressive disorder (MDD), past/remitted MDD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, Parkinson disease, and chronic pain. SHAPS scores were compared between groups using meta-regression, and traditional effect size meta-analyses were conducted to estimate differences in SHAPS scores between healthy and patient samples. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Self-reported anhedonia as measured by 2 different formats of the SHAPS (possible ranges, 0-14 and 14-56 points), with higher values on both scales indicating greater anhedonia symptoms. RESULTS In the available literature (168 articles; 16 494 participants; 8058 [49%] female participants; aged 13-72 years), patients with current MDD, schizophrenia, substance use disorder, Parkinson disease, and chronic pain scored higher on the SHAPS than healthy participants. Within the patient groups, those with current MDD scored considerably higher than all other groups. Patients with remitted MDD scored within the healthy range (g = 0.1). This pattern replicated across SHAPS scoring methods and was consistent across point estimate and effect size analyses. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The findings of this meta-analysis indicate that the severity of anhedonia may differ across disorders associated with anhedonia. Whereas anhedonia in MDD affects multiple pleasure domains, patients with other conditions may experience decreased enjoyment of only a minority of life's many rewards. These findings have implications for psychiatric taxonomy development, where dimensional approaches are gaining attention. Moreover, the SHAPS reference values presented herein may be useful for researchers and clinicians assessing the efficacy of anhedonia treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Trøstheim
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marie Eikemo
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Remy Meir
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Ingelin Hansen
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Elisabeth Paul
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Sara Liane Kroll
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Eric L Garland
- Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City
- The University of Utah College of Social Work, Salt Lake City
| | - Siri Leknes
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Diagnostic Physics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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Plasticity of the Reward Circuitry After Early-Life Adversity: Mechanisms and Significance. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 87:875-884. [PMID: 32081365 PMCID: PMC7211119 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Disrupted operation of the reward circuitry underlies many aspects of affective disorders. Such disruption may manifest as aberrant behavior including risk taking, depression, anhedonia, and addiction. Early-life adversity is a common antecedent of adolescent and adult affective disorders involving the reward circuitry. However, whether early-life adversity influences the maturation and operations of the reward circuitry, and the potential underlying mechanisms, remain unclear. Here, we present novel information using cutting-edge technologies in animal models to dissect out the mechanisms by which early-life adversity provokes dysregulation of the complex interactions of stress and reward circuitries. We propose that certain molecularly defined pathways within the reward circuitry are particularly susceptible to early-life adversity. We examine regions and pathways expressing the stress-sensitive peptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which has been identified in critical components of the reward circuitry and interacting stress circuits. Notably, CRF is strongly modulated by early-life adversity in several of these brain regions. Focusing on amygdala nuclei and their projections, we provide evidence suggesting that aberrant CRF expression and function may underlie augmented connectivity of the nucleus accumbens with fear/anxiety regions, disrupting the function of this critical locus of pleasure and reward.
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Loss of nucleus accumbens low-frequency fluctuations is a signature of chronic pain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:10015-10023. [PMID: 32312809 PMCID: PMC7211984 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1918682117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of chronic pain has reached epidemic levels. In addition to personal suffering, chronic pain is associated with psychiatric and medical comorbidities, notably substance misuse. Chronic pain does not have a cure or quantitative diagnostic or prognostic tools. Here we show that brain imaging can provide such measures. First, we show that the brain limbic system of patients with subacute back pain at risk for becoming chronic back pain patients exhibits limbic system structural alterations, which predate the onset of chronic pain. Second, we show that the nucleus accumbens activity shows loss of low-frequency fluctuations only when patients transition to the chronic phase, an observation that was reproduced in multiple datasets collected at different sites. Chronic pain is a highly prevalent disease with poorly understood pathophysiology. In particular, the brain mechanisms mediating the transition from acute to chronic pain remain largely unknown. Here, we identify a subcortical signature of back pain. Specifically, subacute back pain patients who are at risk for developing chronic pain exhibit a smaller nucleus accumbens volume, which persists in the chronic phase, compared to healthy controls. The smaller accumbens volume was also observed in a separate cohort of chronic low-back pain patients and was associated with dynamic changes in functional connectivity. At baseline, subacute back pain patients showed altered local nucleus accumbens connectivity between putative shell and core, irrespective of the risk of transition to chronic pain. At follow-up, connectivity changes were observed between nucleus accumbens and rostral anterior cingulate cortex in the patients with persistent pain. Analysis of the power spectral density of nucleus accumbens resting-state activity in the subacute and chronic back pain patients revealed loss of power in the slow-5 frequency band (0.01 to 0.027 Hz) which developed only in the chronic phase of pain. This loss of power was reproducible across two cohorts of chronic low-back pain patients obtained from different sites and accurately classified chronic low-back pain patients in two additional independent datasets. Our results provide evidence that lower nucleus accumbens volume confers risk for developing chronic pain and altered nucleus accumbens activity is a signature of the state of chronic pain.
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Kim M, Mawla I, Albrecht DS, Admon R, Torrado-Carvajal A, Bergan C, Protsenko E, Kumar P, Edwards RR, Saha A, Napadow V, Pizzagalli DA, Loggia ML. Striatal hypofunction as a neural correlate of mood alterations in chronic pain patients. Neuroimage 2020; 211:116656. [PMID: 32068162 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic pain and mood disorders share common neuroanatomical substrates involving disruption of the reward system. Although increase in negative affect (NA) and decrease in positive affect (PA) are well-known factors complicating the clinical presentation of chronic pain patients, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the interaction between pain and PA/NA remains limited. Here, we used a validated task probing behavioral and neural responses to monetary rewards and losses in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test the hypothesis that dysfunction of the striatum, a key mesolimbic structure involved in the encoding of motivational salience, relates to mood alterations comorbid with chronic pain. METHODS Twenty-eight chronic musculoskeletal pain patients (chronic low back pain, n=15; fibromyalgia, n=13) and 18 healthy controls underwent fMRI while performing the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task. Behavioral and neural responses were compared across groups and correlated against measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and hedonic capacity (Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale). RESULTS Compared to controls, patients demonstrated higher anhedonia and depression scores, and a dampening of striatal activation and incentive-related behavioral facilitation (reduction in reaction times) during reward and loss trials of the MID task (ps < 0.05). In all participants, lower activation of the right striatum during reward trials was correlated with lower incentive-related behavioral facilitation and higher anhedonia scores (ps < 0.05). Finally, among patients, lower bilateral striatal activation during loss trials was correlated with higher depression scores (ps < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In chronic pain, PA reduction and NA increase are accompanied by striatal hypofunction as measured by the MID task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minhae Kim
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ishtiaq Mawla
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel S Albrecht
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roee Admon
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Angel Torrado-Carvajal
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Courtney Bergan
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ekaterina Protsenko
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Poornima Kumar
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert R Edwards
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Atreyi Saha
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vitaly Napadow
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marco L Loggia
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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