Monday, January 25: News Articles
Having a positive mental outlook has enormous health benefits, with recent research finding that enhanced positive mood may be linked to better brain function in older adults. In this study, researchers found that stable white matter integrity (tissue that transmits information across brain regions) and executive functioning (skills needed for planning, problem-solving, and decision-making) protected against reductions in positive mood after the age of 70, suggesting a relationship between healthy brain function and positive mood over time.
Read more about this exciting research here: https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/positive-mood-older-adults-suggests-better-brain-function?utm_source=nia-mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=healthyaging-20201228
Wednesday, January 27: Accomplishment
Congratulations to Dr. Roger Fillingim and the rest of the PROACT team for their recent publication in Contemporary Clinical Trials. Their paper highlights the design of the PROACT study (Pain Relief for OsteoArthritis through Combined Treatment) – a clinical trial exploring the pain-relieving effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with mindfulness meditation among older adults with osteoarthritis. The goal of this study is to improve clinical pain and disability and reduce existing ethnic/race disparities in knee osteoarthritis pain.
Find the article here
Friday, January 29: Spotlight
Meet Dr. Burel Goodin, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention (CAPPI) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Goodin, a former PRICE postdoctoral fellow, continues to maintain active collaborations with colleagues in our center. His Biobehavioral Pain Research Laboratory at UAB strives to use a social neuroscience framework to better understand the mechanisms that drive pain disparities, and increase awareness of the influence of social factors on pain physiology and perception. Dr. Goodin was inspired to study pain while playing football in college when he made interesting observations about how pain responses can vary widely across people. For example, he witnessed two teammates sustain the same type of injury; however, one individual required prolonged recovery time, while the other did not miss any playing time. Dr. Goodin greatly values his role in mentoring trainees and junior faculty move toward independent careers, thus he hopes to eventually secure a leadership position in academic administration. In his spare time, Burel enjoys spending time outdoors and is an avid hunter and fisherman.