CANDIDATE: Dr. Woodbury is an 8/8 VA-paid employed double-board certified anesthesiologist and pain management clinician who seeks protected time to develop advanced neuroimaging and clinical trials expertise following successful completion of a CDA-1 feasibility study. ENVIRONMENT: The Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Research (CVNR) is a VA RR&D Center of Excellence (COE) in research and provides a robust clinical research environment in conjunction with nearby Emory University. RESEARCH PLAN: In the setting of the opioid epidemic, it is crucial to develop non-pharmacologic treatments for pain and biomarkers to accurately assess pain treatment outcomes. In the present investigation, we assess a novel non- pharmacologic approach to chronic pain treatment in patients suffering from fibromyalgia (a notoriously difficult to treat pain syndrome), utilizing neuroimaging as a biomarker. Resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs- fcMRI), a specific neuroimaging technique, has emerged as a reliable research tool to objectively assess, understand, and predict clinical pain in syndromes such as fibromyalgia. Preliminary results from our CDA-1 investigation reveal a trend towards improved pain and function with a FDA-approved, non-pharmacologic therapy - auricular percutaneous electrical neural field stimulation (PENFS) - over standard therapy control, correlating to altered network connectivity on rs-fcMRI. PENFS-related improvements continued through 12 weeks following the completion of treatment and correlated to changes in cross-network connectivity, which differed between groups. OBJECTIVE: The proposed CDA-2, a randomized, sham-controlled trial of auricular PENFS, evaluates 1) the clinical utility of PENFS for fibromyalgia as compared to sham placebo control, 2) short- and long-term PENFS-related neural changes visualized on rs-fcMRI and 3) the ability of rs-fcMRI to predict PENFS treatment response. HYPOTHESIS: True PENFS results in non-placebo-related short- and long-term pain and functional improvements that can be correlated with altered connectivity and predicted by baseline rs-fcMRI. METHODS: Fifty total subjects (male and female veterans, age 20-60 years old) will be randomized to either sham (n=25) or true (n=25) auricular PENFS. Neuroimaging data, self-reported pain, and function will be assessed at baseline and at 1 and 12 weeks post-treatment to evaluate neural correlates of PENFS-related treatment. Subjects who meet study criteria will receive baseline assessments including rs- fcMRI, Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS) measures, PROMIS measures, arm curl, 30-s chair stand, handgrip strength tests, and baseline analgesic consumption. Subjects will be block-randomized, stratified based on gender, to either true or sham PENFS (series of 4, weekly) treatments and assessed for rs- fcMRI and functional changes at 1 and 12 weeks post-treatment. This study addresses the critical need to identify and understand neural correlate...