Purpose of the Grant
Gastrointestinal Biopsychosocial Research Program
Funded through the NIH initiative on mind-body interactions and health, this grant will enable the Center to carry out longer-term collaborations with other disciplines in health and medicine and with other institutions throughout the US and other countries. The award will be used to build on the Center’s longstanding record of NIH-funded research in mind-body interactions and to develop new research partners and new areas of research. The UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders will become university-wide and include investigators from pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, surgery (gynecology division), neuroradiology, dentistry, the school of public health, and other disciplines.
On-going and completed studies at the UNC Center include research related to the illness and treatment of such prevalent functional GI disorders as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia, functional abdominal pain, fecal incontinence, and constipation. Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic, recurring illness affecting 30 million Americans, or between 10 and 20 percent of the US population. These disorders greatly impair quality of life and are associated with $21 billion in direct and indirect costs annually, according to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD).
Examples of mind-body research at the Center include studies on: the role of stress, abuse history and other psychosocial factors in IBS and their outcomes; brain imaging to assess the association between psychological factors and central pain regulation; hereditary and learned-behavior aspects of IBS and recurrent abdominal pain (RAP); the effects of reproductive hormones on IBS; and the tendency of IBS to co-exist with other disorders. Center researchers have also studied the effectiveness of treatment strategies that combine cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), hypnosis, antidepressants, and/or patient education with medications for IBS, and biofeedback for fecal incontinence and constipation.
Gastrointestinal Biopsychosocial Research Program
Funded through the NIH initiative on mind-body interactions and health, this grant will enable the Center to carry out longer-term collaborations with other disciplines in health and medicine and with other institutions throughout the US and other countries. The award will be used to build on the Center’s longstanding record of NIH-funded research in mind-body interactions and to develop new research partners and new areas of research. The UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders will become university-wide and include investigators from pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, surgery (gynecology division), neuroradiology, dentistry, the school of public health, and other disciplines.
On-going and completed studies at the UNC Center include research related to the illness and treatment of such prevalent functional GI disorders as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia, functional abdominal pain, fecal incontinence, and constipation. Irritable bowel syndrome is a chronic, recurring illness affecting 30 million Americans, or between 10 and 20 percent of the US population. These disorders greatly impair quality of life and are associated with $21 billion in direct and indirect costs annually, according to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD).
Examples of mind-body research at the Center include studies on: the role of stress, abuse history and other psychosocial factors in IBS and their outcomes; brain imaging to assess the association between psychological factors and central pain regulation; hereditary and learned-behavior aspects of IBS and recurrent abdominal pain (RAP); the effects of reproductive hormones on IBS; and the tendency of IBS to co-exist with other disorders. Center researchers have also studied the effectiveness of treatment strategies that combine cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), hypnosis, antidepressants, and/or patient education with medications for IBS, and biofeedback for fecal incontinence and constipation.
