Neural correlates of pain in youth: A preliminary investigation to inform future discovery of future biomarkers #18
Description
Research question(s)
In brain networks associated with chronic pain, is resting state functional connectivity different for adolescents who report pain compared to adolescents who do not report pain?
What are the demographic, cognitive, and mental health correlates of this connectivity?
Description
The goal of this project by Moheb Yani and Sarah Thomas is to test whether functional connectivity within and between brain networks known to be involved in chronic pain is different in adolescents who report pain, when compared to adolescents who do not report pain.
Furthermore, this research project seeks to identify risk and resilience factors that may interact with the presence of pain and affect functional connectivity in adolescents who report pain.
This research project, in particular the selection of a priori brain regions of interest (ROIs) and networks, is based on research on the impact of early adverse life events on functional brain networks in adults with chronic pain (Gupta et al. 2019) and the review of structural and resting-state functional brain imaging in children with chronic pain (Bhatt et al. 2020).
Tools and algorithms to be used
Linear mixed effects models in R & Python using pre-tabulated data
Skills we could use help with (optional)
Visualization (e.g., what would be appropriate given pre-tabulated resting state data, and in general)
Link to analysis plan (optional)
Suggested keywords/tags
Pain, resting state functional connectivity, youth, physical activity, cognition, mental health