Active Brains: a mind-body activity program for older adults with chronic pain and early memory problems
Official title: Addressing the chronic pain-early cognitive decline comorbidity among older adults; The Active Brains study
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11303311 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers a virtual group mind-body activity program for older adults with chronic pain and early memory problems to reduce pain, boost activity, and support thinking skills.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2022 |
| Project end | January 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $594,666 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG075899-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11303311 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older adults who have ongoing (chronic) pain and signs of early memory or thinking changes and who can join virtual group sessions and wear a simple activity monitor are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with advanced dementia, severe uncontrolled medical problems, major mobility restrictions that prevent participation in gentle activity, or inability to use virtual technology may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
You would join a small online group that uses gentle movement, mindfulness, and pacing strategies tailored for older adults with chronic pain and early cognitive decline. The program uses quota-based pacing with a wearable activity monitor to set and reinforce personalized activity goals, plus mood and thinking exercises. It was developed with patient input and showed good feasibility and early signs of benefit; researchers will now run a fully powered randomized trial comparing the program to usual care. Participation involves remote surveys, activity tracking, walking tests, and brief cognitive measures, with most visits delivered virtually.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If effective, the program could lower pain, improve mood and daily function, and help preserve thinking abilities in older adults with chronic pain and early cognitive problems.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier pilot work of this tailored mind-body activity program showed strong feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary improvements in function and symptoms, but this is the first fully powered randomized trial.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Vranceanu, Ana-Maria — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Vranceanu, Ana-Maria
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Pilot Mindfulness Intervention for Chronic Pain and Early Cognitive Decline in Older Black Adults
A small study tests a mindfulness-based program tailored for older Black adults with chronic pain and early cognitive decline to see if it’s feasible and possibly helpful.
-
Exploring the link between chronic pain and early cognitive decline in older adults
This study is looking at how chronic pain and memory problems can affect each other in older adults, and it offers a fun program with group activities and digital tools to help manage pain and boost brain health, all while seeing how well it works for participants.
-
Motor cortex tricks to ease chronic pain
A study in rodents and people tests whether non-invasive brain stimulation of the motor cortex can reduce chronic pain and how best to target it.
-
How COVID-19 infection and genes may influence memory and dementia risk
This study looks at how getting COVID-19 and a person’s genes together affect the chance of developing memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease later in life.
-
Human pain center study to map normal and migraine-trigeminal neurons
A large NIH-funded project will map and study the human trigeminal neurons involved in migraines to understand what changes in these cells during headache conditions.
-
Understanding human pain neurons to improve migraine care
Researchers are studying human pain-sensing neurons to uncover what makes migraine start and persist, with the goal of better treatments for people who experience migraines.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.