# Biobehavioral basis of knee OA

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2021 · $379,496

## Abstract

Abstract of the proposed research that shows the relevance to AD/ADRD
The susceptibility to pain depends on the balance of activity in ascending and descending pain
pathways. The descending pain control system modulates pain by inhibiting or facilitating nociceptive
processing. Well-established tools to study this system in humans are conditioned pain modulation
(CPM) paradigms in which pain intensity ratings of test stimuli are obtained in the presence and
absence of a concomitantly, remotely applied conditioning stimulus. More negative CPM responses (=
reduced pain intensity ratings under concurrent stimulation) are indicative of endogenous analgesia
(i.e., increased pain inhibition) and are mediated by spino-bulbo-spinal reflexes which are controlled by
higher cortical brain areas. Given that the same brain regions needed for descending pain modulation
are also negatively impacted in persons with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), aberrant descending pain
inhibition might contribute to altered pain processing in AD. To our knowledge no studies to date have
investigated descending pain inhibition in persons with AD nor its underlying mechanisms. The
proposed supplement will recruit 50 older adults diagnosed with mild AD with and without pain and
undergo experimental sessions of conditioned pain modulation, a cognitive function battery and multi-
modal neuroimaging consistent with the methodology used in the parent R01 award and compared with
individuals with knee osteoarthritis that are cognitively intact. The proposed research addresses a
significant gap in the literature and would be the first to evaluate the pain-related changes in the neural
substrates in older persons with and without AD in relation to pain. The identification of key top-down
modulatory brain networks impacted by pain and AD will increase our understanding of neurobiological
changes in pain processing that may put individuals at risk of developing AD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10290392
- **Project number:** 3R01AG067757-02S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yenisel Cruz-Almeida
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $379,496
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-15 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10290392

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10290392, Biobehavioral basis of knee OA (3R01AG067757-02S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10290392. Licensed CC0.

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