The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has awarded a new grant to our department, titled “A Mechanistic Neuroimaging Study to Determine Brain Changes with Auricular Stimulation and Auriculotherapy in Healthy Volunteers and Chronic Low Back Pain Patients.”
The project, led by principal investigator Keith M. Vogt, MD, PhD, FASA, Associate Professor and Director of our Anesthesiology Neuroscience Research program, aims to uncover the brain mechanisms underlying auriculotherapy’s effects on chronic low back pain. The research will use advanced multimodal neuroimaging techniques to assess both immediate brain responses and long-term changes in brain network connectivity following ear-based stimulation therapies.
Co-investigators from our department include:
- Benedict Alter, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of Translational Pain Research
- Jacques E. Chelly, MD, PhD, MBA, Professor, Director of Acute Pain Clinical Research, and Director of our Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and our Center for Innovation in Pain Care
- Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc, MA, Professor, Vice Chair for Pain Medicine, and Director of our Chronic Pain Research Program and Center for Innovation in Pain Care
- Trent D. Emerick, MD, MBA, FASA, Associate Professor, Program Director of our Pain Medicine Fellowship, and Associate Chief and Medical Director of our Division of Chronic Pain Management
The interdisciplinary research team also includes University of Pittsburgh faculty from outside our department, including Theodore Huppert, PhD, Research Associate Professor in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering, and Bedda Rosario, PhD, from the Department of Epidemiology.
The project addresses an important public health problem, as chronic low back pain affects millions of Americans and contributes to high rates of opioid use, mental health challenges, and lost productivity. Auriculotherapy offers a non-invasive, opioid-sparing treatment alternative; however, its broader adoption has been limited by a lack of mechanistic understanding. By identifying the neural signatures associated with auricular stimulation and therapy, this study aims to provide the scientific foundation needed to expand auriculotherapy’s integration into mainstream clinical practice.
This innovative research is poised to further advance our leadership in innovative pain research and commitment to improving patient care through interdisciplinary collaboration and rigorous science.