Faculty Spotlight - Todd Monroe

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing faculty member Todd Monroe, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, assistant professor of nursing, is currently funded from the National Institute of Health/National Institute of Aging and the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) to examine pain in older adults with and without Alzheimer’s disease.

Currently Funded R21

Age and Sex-Related Differences in Psychophysical and Neurobiological Response to Pain

Summary

Poorly treated pain in older adults is a critical public health problem. When compared to young adults, evidence suggests that older adults have more painful diagnoses, have increased sensory thresholds for pain, and are at risk for under treatment of their pain. Gender associated differences in the experience of pain are reported in the literature with women generally experiencing more pain and reporting increased sensitivity. Poorly treated pain leads to many associated symptoms, negatively impacts quality of life, and increases health care costs. Exploring the biological reasons for alterations in pain processing is essential to increasing our understanding about pain in older adults. The paucity of neurobiological evidence to support best practice pain management in older adults places these individuals at risk for poor pain management practices. The goals of this project are to determine sex and age associated psychophysical and neurophysiological differences in the processing of pain.

Currently Funded KL2

Brain Activation and Pain Reports in People with Alzheimer's Disease

Summary

The aims of this study are to determine whether sensory (stimulus intensity) and affective (stimulus unpleasantness) responses differ adults with and without Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) during cutaneous thermal stimulation. We hypothesize that AD will be associated with a blunted response in sensory pain and affective pain systems. These changes may arise from AD-associated changes in brain structure and function as well as from specific alterations in pain-related brain networks. Examining baseline differences in experimental thermal pain between adults with and without AD will provide a foundation for understanding factors that may contribute to untreated pain risk, as well as for developing novel assessment, prevention, and treatment strategies in the older population.

Principal Investigator: Todd Monroe PhD, RN-BC, FAAN

Research interests include:

• Using psychophysical and neuroimaging methods to study pain in cognitively healthy older adults
• Using psychophysical and neuroimaging methods to study pain in people with Alzheimer’s disease
• Determining the impact of sex/gender on the experience of pain in older adults

MPI: Ronald Cowan MD, PhD (R21)
Co-investigators (R21): Mary S. Dietrich, PhD, MS; Manus Donahue PhD, Baxter Rogers PhD, Steve Bruehl PhD
Primary Mentor KL2: John Gore
Co-mentors (KL2): Lorraine Mion PhD, RN, FAAN, Paul Newhouse MD, Steve Bruehl PhD