Pain Neuroimaging

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Pain is a biopsychosocial experience, but most studies have focused solely on the biological domain, which cannot satisfactorily explain the pain experience. Like pain, body image, an individual's subjective experience of the size, shape, and features of their body, is biologically, psychologically, and socio-culturally constituted; accordingly, disturbances of body image have been reported in multiple disorders chronic pain disorders. Despite this connection, the relationship between body image and chronic pain has yet to be understood. Prof. Moayedi's proposed research will deepen our understandings of the intersection of pain and body image and identify novel therapeutic targets. by addressing 2 themes of research. The first theme will determine the relationship between body image and the pain experience using visual illusion that change the shape and size of an individual's body (e.g, a finger stretch illusion). This theme comprises three objectives which will (1) identify brain regions causally involved in finger stretch illusion; (2) determine whether changes to body image through the visual illusion alter sensitivity to an experimental model of pain; and (3) causally determine which brain regions involved in body image affect sensitivity to an experimental model of pain. These would identify potential new therapeutic targets for chronic pains associated with body image disturbances. Theme 2 will determine the relationship post-surgical pain and changes in body image. This theme comprises three objectives that will (3) explore the pain experience in transmen and cisgender women; (2) determine the relationship between BPD and pain; and (3) a mixed method analysis of BPD and pain relationship. This theme will investigate the pain experiences of ciswomen undergoing prophylactic mastectomy and transmen undergoing top surgery combining qualitative interviews with quantitative methods including behavioural, psychophysical and neuroimaging method. As the first pain study to investigate the pain experiences in transmen, and the impact of body image on pain in both ciswomen and transmen, the proposed research