How a stress-related brain circuit may drive opioid relapse in chronic pain
Official title: Amygdala kappa opioid system involvement in opioid relapse in pain states
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11294304 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research looks at how a stress-related system in the amygdala may cause people with chronic pain to relapse on opioids.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $554,896 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA053752-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11294304 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with ongoing chronic pain who are using or have a history of using prescription opioids and who are concerned about relapse would be the most relevant group.
✕Less likely to help
People without chronic pain or without current or past opioid exposure, or whose relapse risk is driven primarily by social or environmental factors, are less likely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
From the patient's view, researchers are studying cells and circuits in the amygdala that use kappa-opioid signals and stress chemicals (like dynorphin and CRF) to see how pain and past opioid use create intense negative feelings that trigger relapse. They use laboratory and animal models to map a pain-to-amygdala pathway and to turn kappa-opioid signals up or down to see how that changes drug-seeking behavior after withdrawal. The team links these brain changes to behaviors that resemble relapse and tests whether blocking kappa-opioid signaling reduces relapse-like actions. Results are aimed at guiding new ways to lower relapse risk for people with chronic pain who have used opioids.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to treatments that reduce relapse risk in people with chronic pain by targeting kappa-opioid or stress-related signaling in the brain.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical studies have previously linked kappa-opioid and stress-system activity to negative mood and relapse-like behavior, but clinical treatments targeting kappa receptors remain largely unproven in people.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cahill, Catherine M — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Cahill, Catherine M
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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.