Marina Lopez Sola.

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Anesthesia

513-517-0592

Biography & Affiliation

Biography

Marina Lopez-Sola's work focuses on understanding the brain mechanisms and psychological processes that underlie somatic complaints and affective distress and recovery in chronic pain, depression and anxiety. Her research is mostly focused on the analysis and interpretation of functional brain imaging data, subjective measures of pain, emotion and thought content and psychophysiological and behavioral measures. She is currently working on identifying neural signatures of chronic pain conditions that are applicable to juvenile forms of chronic pain and can distinguish primary pain pathologies from primary depression and anxiety. She is also working on understanding the effects of social support and altruistic behavior as significant analgesic tools. On a similar line, she studies the brain mechanisms predicting positive response to mindfulness based cognitive therapy and somatosensory-based interventions in the context of pain and depression.

The Lopez-Sola Lab aims at significantly contributing to identify replicable and predictive brain-psyche-body markers that can help understand the specific, measurable mechanisms driving pain at the individual patient level. This work may help providing a better understanding of the iceberg underlying pain complaints for each young patient. If successful, the products of the work may be helpful to most effectively tailor preventive and treatment strategies for the individual patient.

Research Interests

fMRI; pain; brain marker; mvpa; signature; fibromyalgia; osteoarthritis; depression; anxiety; obsessive compulsive disorder

Academic Affiliation

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Anesthesia

Research Divisions

Anesthesia, Imaging

Education

BS: Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 2005.

MS: Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain, 2007.

PhD: Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Spain, 2010.

Post-doctoral Research Fellowship: University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2012.

Publications

When pain really matters: A vicarious-pain brain marker tracks empathy for pain in the romantic partner. López-Solà, M; Koban, L; Krishnan, A; Wager, TD. Neuropsychologia. 2020; 145.

Brain mechanisms of social touch-induced analgesia in females. López-Solà, M; Geuter, S; Koban, L; Coan, JA; Wager, TD. Pain. 2019; 160:2072-2085.

Transforming Pain With Prosocial Meaning: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Lopez-Sola, M; Koban, L; Wager, TD. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2018; 80:814-825.

Multivariate pattern analysis utilizing structural or functional MRI-In individuals with musculoskeletal pain and healthy controls: A systematic review. Smith, A; Lopez-Sola, M; McMahon, K; Pedler, A; Sterling, M. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2017; 47:418-431.

Brain imaging of pain sensitization in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Pujol, J; Martinez-Vilavella, G; Llorente-Onaindia, J; Harrison, BJ; Lopez-Sola, M; Lopez-Ruiz, M; Blanco-Hinojo, L; Benito, P; Deus, J; Monfort, J. Pain. 2017; 158:1831-1838.

Effects of chondroitin sulfate on brain response to painful stimulation in knee osteoarthritis patients. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Monfort, J; Pujol, J; Contreras-Rodríguez, O; Llorente-Onaindia, J; López-Solà, M; Blanco-Hinojo, L; Vergés, J; Herrero, M; Sánchez, L; Ortiz, H; et al. Medicina Clinica. 2017; 148:539-547.

Effects of chondroitin sulfate on brain response to painful stimulation in knee osteoarthritis patients. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Monfort, J; Pujol, J; Contreras-Rodriguez, O; Llorente-Onaindia, J; Lopez-Sola, M; Blanco-Hinojo, L; Verges, J; Herrero, M; Sanchez, L; Ortiz, H; et al. Medicina Clinica. 2017; 148:539-547.

Group-regularized individual prediction: theory and application to pain. Lindquist, MA; Krishnan, A; Lopez-Sola, M; Jepma, M; Woo, C; Koban, L; Roy, M; Atlas, LY; Schmidt, L; Chang, LJ; et al. NeuroImage. 2017; 145:274-287.

Towards a neurophysiological signature for fibromyalgia. Lopez-Sola, M; Woo, C; Pujol, J; Deus, J; Harrison, BJ; Monfort, J; Wager, TD. Pain. 2017; 158:34-47.

Dynamic functional connectivity reveals altered variability in functional connectivity among patients with major depressive disorder. Demirtas, M; Tornador, C; Falcon, C; Lopez-Sola, M; Hernandez-Ribas, R; Pujol, J; Menchon, JM; Ritter, P; Cardoner, N; Soriano-Mas, C; et al. Human Brain Mapping. 2016; 37:2918-2930.