Ethnic disparities in pain processing among healthy adults: μ-opioid receptor binding potential as a putative mechanism

This study sought to address this knowledge gap by examining differences in µ-selective agonist binding potential (BPND; [11C]-Carfentanil) between 27 non-Hispanic black (NHB) and 27 demographically similar, non-Hispanic white participants. Participants completed questionnaires and two 90-minute high-resolution research tomograph positron emission tomography (PET) imaging sessions. During PET imaging, a capsaicin or control cream was applied to individuals' arms, and pain ratings were collected. Bonferroni-corrected PET volumes of interest analyses revealed significantly greater [11C]-Carfentanil BPND among NHB participants in bilateral ventral striatum ([left]: F1,52 = 16.38, P
Source: Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research