Grant: Project Grant

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition that affects roughly 1 million people in Canada, predominantly aged 30-50 years. In spite of its prevalence and impact, our understanding of the physiological basis of FM is still developing. Research to date has provided evidence that there are differences in the central nervous system in the way that pain is processed in people with FM compared to people without FM. It appears that people with FM may be in a constant state of heightened sensitivity, similar to a normal reaction to stress or fear. With the proposed research we aim to further characterize the neural basis of altered pain sensitivity in FM in the brainstem and spinal cord, using recent innovations in our methods for pain research that are based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and also recent new insights into FM. Specifically, we will test the ideas that heightened pain experienced by people with FM is the result of altered natural regulation of pain signaling, and/or a state of heightened responsiveness in the spinal cord, and/or heightened sensitivity in the periphery where sensory or pain signaling originates. We will test relationships between neural signaling and pain sensitivity, and a wide range of psychological and health characteristics. We will also identify natural variations in pain processing in relation to individual differences in pain, and differences between sexes. This will enable us to identify neural changes that are specific to FM, and cannot be attributed to other sources of variability. The results will reveal the key characteristics of FM, and may reveal ways to improve FM diagnosis, and potentially provide evidence of new ways to treat FM.