PROJECT ABSTRACT
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major and growing public health problem that negatively impacts quality
of life. The prevalence of painful arthritis in the U.S. likely approaches ~90 million adults and
clinical sequela of OA-associated pain include decreased mobility and compromised activity.
Importantly, the chronic pain experience in humans frequently includes profound and
debilitating effects on the emotional state, with significant negative impacts on quality of life and
function. Consequences also include impaired performance on cognitive tasks, particularly those
requiring working memory or attentional switching. These effects compound the clinical picture,
contributing to the pain-related depression, anxiety, and emotional distress (the `experience' of
chronic pain). Research relying on rodent models is not translating into new, effective treatments.
One reason for the lack of translational success is that despite the clear importance of emotion
and cognition in the human chronic pain experience, current models of chronic pain in animals
frequently ignore these critical domains. The major goal of the proposed studies is to
bridge this `model gap' and significantly advance translational research capability
by developing and rigorously validating a battery of assays for assessment of
emotions and cognitive function in the pet dog model of persistent OA pain. Pet dogs
with naturally occurring persistent OA pain are already considered a good model of the sensory-
discriminative aspects of OA pain in humans; enhancing the capability of this model will allow
researchers, for the first time, to access a clinically relevant full biopsychosocial
animal model of persistent pain. We will achieve this through developing, refining and
rigorously validating (test-retest, structural, discriminative, responsiveness, and criterion
validity) a battery of emotional and cognitive domain tests, benchmarking against validated
measures of pain and the impact of pain. Applying advanced statistical techniques, we will create
a concise battery that can be feasibly performed in clinical research settings. We bring together
diverse expertise with proven track records of collaboration and established facility resources to
successfully address this critical gap in modeling the pain experience of humans. Successful
completion of this proposed work will validate a highly clinically relevant
biopsychosocial animal model of persistent musculoskeletal pain that has the
potential to radically increase the translation of pre-clinical knowledge into
effective, non-addictive analgesic treatments for humans suffering from persistent
musculoskeletal pain.
