# Brain Connectivity Patterns in Chronic Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2022 · $249,000

## Abstract

Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJD) are the most common cause of orofacial pain second
only to tooth pain, for which effective treatment strategies remain empirical. Approximately 15% of acute TMJD
patients will develop chronic pain, and some of these patients develop high pain-related disability that is
associated with poor prognosis, even with treatment, and greater health care costs. Chronic TMJD pain
pathophysiology includes dysregulation of brain circuits, and recent evidence suggests that connectivity
patterns within the thalamocortical, antinociceptive, and corticolimbic brain circuits are associated with
processing, modulation and persistence of pain. These brain circuits connectivity patterns have not been
described in chronic TMJD patients and it is unknown if they can distinguish pain-related disability levels in
patients. The overall objective of this proposal is to identify brain connectivity patterns that can differentiate
chronic TMJD patients with high pain-related disability. To attain this objective, Dr. Moana-Filho will be trained
under the mentorship of Dr. Christophe Lenglet in neuroimaging (primary mentor), Dr. David Bereiter in
trigeminal neuroscience and Dr. Lynn Eberly in statistics. During the K99 mentored phase (Years 1-2; Aims 1 &
2), Dr. Moana-Filho will learn advanced analyzes of neuroimaging data from the NIH Human Connectome
Project (HCP) (Aim 1) and will conduct a research study of chronic TMJD patients and pain-free controls using
validated clinical phenotyping protocol, endogenous pain controls testing and multi-modal neuroimaging
protocol developed by the HCP (Aim 2). Aim 1 will identify connectivity patterns within the thalamocortical,
antinociceptive, and corticolimbic brain circuits as potential measures of sensory, modulatory, and emotional
aspects of pain processing, respectively, from a large sample of healthy subjects from the HCP. Aim 2 will
identify intrinsic connectivity patterns within these brain circuits as potential “signatures” for pain-related
disability in chronic TMJD pain patients. During the R00 independent phase (Years 3-5; Aim 3), Dr. Moana-
Filho will conduct a second study of chronic TMJD patients and matched controls to determine if evoked
changes of connectivity patterns within those brain circuits evoked with noxious stimuli engaging endogenous
pain controls can differentiate patients with high disability. The overall goal is to combine clinical sensory
testing with psychosocial measures to enhance the precision and validity of brain imaging methods to
differentiate subgroups of chronic pain patients. These newly developed brain-based signatures used along
brief screening instruments are expected to guide clinicians and researchers in discriminating subgroups of
chronic pain patients. The proposed training will support Dr. Moana-Filho career development as a dentist
scientist dedicated to translational research in orofacial pain and is an initial step to achieve his lo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10466898
- **Project number:** 5R00DE027414-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Estephan J Moana-Filho
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $249,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10466898

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10466898, Brain Connectivity Patterns in Chronic Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (5R00DE027414-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10466898. Licensed CC0.

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