U of M Medical School receives $2.5M grant to study the effect of pain on how people drink
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (10/10/2024) — The University of Minnesota Medical School recently received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study how pain influences drinking behavior.
This research aims to better understand how pain affects drinking in individuals, both with and without chronic temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain. TMD is characterized by ongoing pain or discomfort in the jaw and the muscles that control jaw movement, making it difficult to chew and speak. Those with TMD often experience headaches and pain that can extend to the face, neck or ears.
Individuals with TMD pain are at elevated risk for alcohol-related health problems, including alcohol use disorder, and growing evidence suggests pain is a significant motivator for alcohol use in many individuals.
“It's common for people with chronic pain, including facial pain, to use alcohol to help manage their symptoms. Unfortunately, using alcohol for pain relief can actually make pain worse in the long run,” said Dr. Jeff Boissoneault, an associate professor at the U of M Medical School and director of the Minnesota Alcohol and Pain Lab. “By studying how pain affects the way that people drink both in the laboratory and in daily life, we hope to find new treatment targets to help people with pain avoid alcohol-related problems.”
Dr. Boissoneault and his team are currently preparing for participant enrollment, which is anticipated to begin in January 2025.
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The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visit med.umn.edu.