# Effects of experimental sleep disruption and fragmentation on cerebral Mu-opioid receptor function, Mu-opioid receptor agonist analgesia, and abuse liability.

> **NIH NIH U01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $581,018

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The proposed supplement leverages the infrastructure of a parent U01 project (1U01HL150568-01; PI:
Michael T. Smith, PhD) to examine the contributions of slow wave sleep [(SWS); i.e., NREM Stage 3 sleep],
race-related stress, and resting-state functional brain connectivity (rsFC) to experimental pain sensitivity in
healthy non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White adults residing in the US (US-NHB and US-NHW,
respectively). US-NHB adults have up to 1.8 greater odds of experiencing chronic pain and report significantly
greater clinical pain intensity and pain-related disability compared to US-NHW peers. Racism and resultant race-
related stress are established health determinants associated with adverse pain outcomes among US-NHB
individuals. Although previous work shows that racism increases allostatic load burden – or physiological
perturbations due to chronic stress – to disproportionately impact US-NHB individuals' health, the mechanisms
by which racism/race-related stress impacts pain chronification and sensitivity are not fully established.
Understanding such mechanisms at the individual level can promote equitable pain care for US-NHB individuals
via novel forms of prevention and treatment that complement provider education and policy efforts to eliminate
systemic racism. SWS is characterized by reductions in sympathetic nervous system activity and critically down
regulates allostatic load burden. Previous work has shown stark SWS reductions among US-NHB individuals
compared to US-NHW individuals, and reduced SWS is linked to race-related stress. Reduced SWS is frequently
observed in case-control studies of chronic pain and is linked with heightened pain sensitivity in the context of
normal total sleep duration. Combined, these findings suggest that reduced SWS might act as a mechanism by
which race-related stress impacts pain processes in US-NHB individuals; yet, this hypothesis has not been
explored in previous work. Controlling for psychosocial factors, the present project has 3 aims: [1] determine
whether SWS mediates ethnoracial differences in experimental pain sensitivity, [2] interrogate the association
between race-related stress and rsFC of the reward system – a brain network associated with pain chronification
risk and adversely impacted by reduced SWS, and [3] examine whether reward system rsFC moderates the
SWS-pain association. Along with these research efforts, the candidate will complete didactics and receive
mentorship by Dr. Michael Smith – a leading expert in the sleep-pain dyad – and Dr. Claudia Campbell – a
national expert in ethnoracial pain disparities – in the following areas: [1] the sleep-pain dyad, [2] mechanisms
of ethnoracial pain disparities, [3] advanced neuroimaging techniques, and [4] culturally responsive mentorship.
These proficiencies and project data will help the candidate launch an independent research program examining
mechanisms of pain treatment responses – particularly rela...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10267445
- **Project number:** 3U01HL150568-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael T Smith
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $581,018
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-01-15 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10267445

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10267445, Effects of experimental sleep disruption and fragmentation on cerebral Mu-opioid receptor function, Mu-opioid receptor agonist analgesia, and abuse liability. (3U01HL150568-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10267445. Licensed CC0.

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