Salutation: Dr

Contact Information
Email address: marc.o.martel@mcgill.ca

My primary line of research is designed to explore the psychological and biological determinants of prescription opioid misuse and addiction among patients with chronic pain prescribed opioid analgesics. As a parallel line of research, I am currently working on the implementation of projects designed to examine the biopsychosocial determinants of negative postsurgical outcomes. I am particularly interested in exploring the contribution of biological and psychological factors to the development of chronic pain and problematic opioid use after surgery.

Some of the key research methods and procedures used in my lab include self-report questionnaires, electronic diaries, structured clinical interviews, and quantitative sensory testing (QST). The bulk of my research projects are conducted in collaboration with clinicians and researchers from the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit (AEPMU) and the Alan Edwards Center for Research on Pain (AECRP).

Selected publications:

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

Ware MA, Martel MO, Jovey R, Lynch ME, Singer J. A prospective observational study of problematic oral cannabinoid use (Psychopharmacology, Accepted/in-press).

Lazaridou A, Martel MO, Cahalan CM, Cornelius MC, Franceschelli O, Campbell C, Haythornthwaite JA, Smith M, Page GG, Riley J, Edwards RR. The impact of anxiety and catastrophizing on interleukin-6 responses to acute painful stress (Accepted/in-press, J Pain Res).

Finan PH, Moscou-Jackson G, Martel MO, Campbell CM, Smyth JM, Haythornthwaite JA. Daily opioid Use Fluctuates as a Function of Pain, Catastrophizing, and Affect in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Electronic Daily Diary Analysis (Accepted/in-press, J Pain).

Tousignant-Laflamme Y, Martel MO, Joshi A, Cook C. A comprehensive conservative non pharmacological management model for mechanical low back pain: An ICF perspective (In-press, J Pain Res).

Martel MO, Shir Y, Ware MA. Substance-related disorders: A review of prevalence and correlates among patients with chronic pain. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018;20:245-254.

Carriere J, Darnall BD, Martel MO, Kao MC, Sullivan MJL, Mackey SC. Associations between perceived injustice, pain intensity, pain behavior and prescription opioids for chronic pain: A Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry study (Accepted/in-press, Pain Res Manag).

Jamison RN, Dorado K, Mei A, Edwards RR, Martel MO. Influence of opioid-related side effects on disability, mood, and opioid misuse risk among chronic pain patients in primary care (Accepted/in-press, Pain Rep).

Edwards RR, Dolman AJ, Michna E, Katz JN, Nedeljkovic SS, Janfaza D, Issac Z, Martel MO, Jamison RN, Wasan AD. Changes in pain sensitivity and pain modulation during oral opioid treatment: The impact of negative affect. Pain Med 2016; 17:1882-91.

Martel MO, Olesen AE, Jorgensen D, Nielsen LM, Brock C, Edwards RR, Drewes AM. Does catastrophic thinking enhance oesophageal pain sensitivity ? An experimental investigation. Euro J Pain 2016;20:1214-22.

McHugh RK, Weiss RD, Cornelius M, Martel MO, Jamison RN, Edwards RR. Distress intolerance and prescription opioid misuse among patients with chronic pain. J Pain 2016;17:806-14.

Edwards RR, Dolman AJ, Martel MO, Finan PH, Lazaridou A, Cornelius M, Wasan AD. Variability in conditioned pain modulation predicts response to NSAID treatment in patients with knee osteoarthritis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2016;17:284.

Martel MO, Finan PH, McHugh RK, Issa M, Edwards RR, Jamison RN, Wasan AD. Day-to-day pain symptoms are only weakly associated with opioid craving among patients with chronic pain prescribed opioid therapy. Drug Alc Depend 2016;162:130-6.

Vachon-Presseau E, Roy M, Woo CW, Kunz M, Martel MO, Sullivan MJ, Jackson PL, Wager TD, Rainville P. Multiple faces of pain: effects of chronic pain on the brain regulation of facial expression. Pain 2016;157:1819-30.

Jamison RN, Martel MO, Huang CC, Jurcik D, Edwards RR. Efficacy of the opioid compliance checklist to monitor chronic pain patients receiving opioid therapy in primary care. J Pain 2016;17:414-23.

Martel MO, Finan PH, Dolman AJ, Subramanian SV, Edwards RR, Wasan AD, Jamison RN. Self-reports of medication side effects and pain-related activity interference in patients with chronic pain: A longitudinal cohort study. Pain 2015;156:1092-1100.  

Basaria S, Travison TG, Alford DA, Knapp PE, Davda MN, Teeter K, Cahalan C, Collins L, Eder R, Lakshman K, Bachman E, Mensing G, Martel MO, Lee D, Alvarez U, Stroh H, Wasan AD, Bhasin S, Walley A, Edwards RR. Effects of testosterone replacement in men with opioid-induced androgen deficiency: A randomized-controlled trial. Pain 2015;156:280-8. 

Loggia ML, Berna C, Kim J, Cahalan C, Martel MO, Gollub RL, Wasan AD, Napadow V, Edwards RR. The lateral prefrontal cortex mediates the hyperalgesic effects of negative cognitions in chronic pain patients. J Pain 2015;16:692-699.

Schreiber K, Campbell C, Martel MO, Greenbaum S, Wasan A, Edwards RR. Distraction analgesia in chronic pain patients: the impact of catastrophizing. Anesthesiology 2014; 121:1292-301.

Jamison RN, Martel MO, Sheehan KA, Edwards RR, Ross EL. Validation of a brief opioid compliance checklist for patients with chronic pain. The Journal of Pain 2014;15:1092-1010.

Martel MO, Jamison RN, Wasan AD, Edwards RR. The association between catastrophizing and craving in patients with chronic pain prescribed opioid therapy: A preliminary analysis. Pain Medicine 2014;15:1757-64.

Martel MO, Dolman AJ, Edwards RR, Jamison RN, Wasan AD. The association between negative affect and prescription opioid misuse in patients with chronic pain: The mediating role of opioid craving. The Journal of Pain 2014;15:90-100.

Martel MO, Wasan AD, Edwards RR. Sex differences in the stability of conditioned pain modulation among patients with chronic pain. Pain Medicine 2013;14:1757-68.

Schreiber K, Martel MO, Shnol H, Shaffer JR, Greco C, Brufsky A, Ahrendt G, Bovbjerg DH, Edwards RR, Belfer I. Persistent pain in postmastectomy patients: comparison of psychophysical, medical, surgical and psychosocial characteristics between patients with and without pain. Pain 2013;154:660-68.

Martel MO, Wasan AD, Jamison RN, Edwards RR. Catastrophic thinking and increased risk for prescription opioid misuse in patients with chronic pain. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2013;132: 335-41.   

Vachon-Presseau E, Martel MO, Roy M, Albouy G, Budell L, Sullivan MJL, Jackson PL, Rainville P. The two sides of pain communication: effects of pain expressiveness on vicarious brain responses in chronic back pain patients. The Journal of Pain 2013;14:1407-15.

Vachon-Presseau E, Martel MO, Roy M, Caron E, Albouy G, Marin MF, Plante I, Sullivan MJL, Lupien SJ, Rainville P. Acute stress contributes to individual differences in pain and pain-related brain activity in healthy and chronic pain patients. Journal of Neuroscience 2013;33:6826-33.

Vachon-Presseau E, Roy M, Martel MO, Caron E, Marin MF, Chen J, Albouy G, Plante I, Sullivan MJL, Lupien SJ, Rainville P. The stress model of chronic pain: evidence from basal cortisol and hippocampal structure and function in human. Brain 2013;136:815-27.

Vachon-Presseau E, Roy M, Martel MO, Albouy G, Chen J, Budell L, Sullivan MJL, Jackson PL, Rainville P. Neural processing of sensory and emotional-communicative information associated with the perception of vicarious pain. Neuroimage 2012;63:54-62.

Sullivan MJL, Adams H, Martel MO, Scott W, Wideman T. Catastrophizing and perceived injustice: Risk factors for the transition to chronicity following whiplash injury. Spine 2012; 36:S244-49.

Wideman TH, Scott W, Martel MO, Sullivan MJL. Recovery from depressive symptoms over the course of physical therapy: A prospective cohort study of individuals with work-related, orthopaedic injuries and symptoms of depression. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sport Physical Therapy 2012;42:957-67.

Martel MO, Trost Z, Sullivan MJL. The expression of pain behaviors in high catastrophizers: The influence of automatic and controlled processes. The Journal of Pain 2012;13:808-15.   

Martel MO, Wideman T, Sullivan MJL. Patients who display protective pain behaviors are viewed as less likable, less dependable, and less likely to return to work. Pain 2012;153:843-49.

Martel MO, Thibault P, Sullivan MJL. Judgments about pain intensity and pain genuineness: The role of pain behavior and judgmental heuristics. The Journal of Pain 2011;12:468-75. 

Vachon-Presseau E, Martel MO, Roy M, Caron E, Jackson P, Rainville P. The multilevel organization of vicarious pain responses : Effects of pain cues and empathy traits on spinal nociception, autonomic responses and acute pain. Pain 2011;152:1525-31.

Martel MO, Thibault P, Sullivan MJL. The persistence of pain behaviors in patients with chronic back pain is independent of pain and psychological factors. Pain 2010;151:330-36.

Martel MO, Thibault P, Roy C, Catchlove R, Sullivan MJL. Contextual determinants of pain judgments. Pain 2008;139:562-68.

Sullivan MJL, Martel MO, Tripp D, Savard A, Crombez G. Catastrophic thinking and heightened perception of pain in others. Pain 2006;123: 37-44.

Sullivan MJL, Martel MO, Savard A, Crombez G. The relation between catastrophizing and the communication of pain experience. Pain 2006;122:282-88.

Book chapters

Martel MO & Jamison RN. Pain, addiction, and psychiatric illness. In: Murinson B, Barreveld A (Eds.). Fundamentals of pain care. Oxford: Oxford University Press (under review).

Martel MO & Jamison RN. Facilitating adherence to pharmacotherapy in pain medicine. In: Cheatle M, Fine P (Eds.). Adherence to Pharamocotherapy: Maximizing Benefit and Minimizing Risk. Oxford: Oxford University Press (under review).

Sullivan MJL & Martel MO. Processes underlying the relation between catastrophizing and chronic pain: Implications for intervention. In: Hasenbring M, Rusu A & Turk DC (Eds.). From acute to chronic back pain: Risk factors, mechanisms, and clinical implications. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Sullivan MJL, Martel MO, Trost Z. Pain, chronicity, and disability. In: Loisel P, Anema JR (Eds.). Handbook of work disability: Prevention and management. Springer: New-York, 2013.