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Anhedonia in chronic pain and prescription opioid misuse

Both acute and chronic pain can disrupt reward processing. Moreover, prolonged prescription opioid use and depressed mood are common in chronic pain samples. Despite the prevalence of these risk factors for anhedonia, little is known about anhedonia in chronic pain populations. We conducted a large-scale, systematic study of anhedonia in chronic pain, focusing on its relationship with opioid use/misuse, pain severity, and depression.

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Behavioral preference for viewing drug v. pleasant images predicts current and future opioid misuse among chronic pain patients

The study used a mixed cross-sectional and longitudinal design to test whether a behavioral choice task, previously validated in stimulant users, was associated with increased opioid misuse severity at baseline, and whether it predicted change in opioid misuse severity at follow-up.

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Impaired frontostriatal functional connectivity among chronic opioid using pain patients is associated with dysregulated affect

Preclinical studies have shown effects of chronic exposure to addictive drugs on glutamatergic‐mediated neuroplasticity in frontostriatal circuitry. These initial findings have been paralleled by human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research demonstrating weaker frontostriatal resting‐state functional connectivity (rsFC) among individuals with psychostimulant use disorders. We hypothesized that prescription opioid users with chronic pain, as compared with healthy control subjects, would evidence weaker frontostriatal rsFC coupled with less frontostriatal gray matter volume (GMV).

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Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Acute and Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review

Nonpharmacologic approaches have been characterized as the preferred means to treat chronic noncancer pain by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is evidence that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective for pain management, yet the typical MBI may not be feasible across many clinical settings due to resource and time constraints. Brief MBIs (BMBIs) could prove to be more feasible and pragmatic for safe treatment of pain. This article systematically reviews evidence of BMBI's effects on acute and chronic pain outcomes in humans.

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Last Updated: 4/14/21