Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition characterized by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment, and psychological disorders. These symptoms negatively affect patients' physical, psychological, and social well-being, including loss of employment, poor mental health, and social isolation, resulting in greatly reduced quality of life. Currently, there is no ideal treatment for fibromyalgia due to our limited understanding of its causes, and the differences in the symptoms and severity of symptoms that patients experience. Research suggests inflammation in the nervous system or, neuroinflammation, can contribute to the development and maintenance of chronic pain conditions. Importantly, neuroinflammation has recently been observed in patients with fibromyalgia. Limited research has examined the relationships between neuroinflammation and conditions that co-occur with fibromyalgia, such as sleep disturbance, stress, cognitive impairment, and psychological disorders. To improve our understanding of fibromyalgia and the differences in patients' symptom experiences, this study will measure neuroinflammation in brain regions associated with fibromyalgia and examine how neuroinflammation relates to differences in fibromyalgia-related pain, sleep disturbance, stress, cognitive impairment, and psychological well-being. This study can provide valuable information about the causes of fibromyalgia, which can help inform new treatments or modify existing treatments to reduce the impact of fibromyalgia on patients' lives.