Brain Connectivity Patterns in Chronic Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
University of Minnesota
Summary
This study addresses the timely problem of painful temporomandibular disorders (TMD), the most common cause of orofacial pain second only to tooth pain. Findings from previous studies suggest that dysregulation of connectivity within specific brain circuits is part of chronic pain pathophysiology. This study will identify connectivity patterns within those brain circuits as potential signatures for pain- related disability in chronic TMD pain participants. New knowledge regarding these brain connectivity patterns is expected to be significant because it will support improved phenotyping of this heterogeneous participant population. It is also expected that this finding can potentially be extrapolated to other chronic pain conditions, such as back pain, migraine headache, and fibromyalgia that are frequently comorbid conditions in chronic TMD participants.
Description
Evidence of dysregulation of brain circuits in chronic pain in general and in chronic temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain specifically is well documented. Among putative brain circuits involved in chronic pain pathophysiology are thalamocortical brain pathways, which transmit nociceptive signals centrally from peripheral tissues. Pathways between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the periaqueductal gray (PAG) are considered part of an antinociceptive brain circuit, since they are necessary to engage endogenous pain modulation. Dysfunction of endogenous pain modulation has been systemat…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–65 years
- Sex
- Female
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: Main project * Provide signed and dated informed consent form. * Willing to comply with all study procedures and be available for the duration of study participation. * All participants will be females (biological sex by self-report) between ages 18 to 65 years (inclusive), as this includes the majority of the patient population at risk for chronic TMD pain. * Cases and controls will be matched for age within ±3 years, and all participants must be able to understand commands in English to follow study procedures (e.g., during sensory testing). Pain-free controls * TMD-Pa…
Location
- University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minnesota