The Warmth, Anticipation, Sensation, Aversion, and Body-part Imaging Study
This functional magnetic-resonance imaging study of the brain will feature a within-subject crossover design to investigate the effects of a placebo cream on painful thermal stimulation rendered upon eight body sites. The investigators aim to 1.) improve the understanding of how the brain represents thermal pain respon
| Condition(s) | Pain |
|---|---|
| Status | Recruiting |
| Phase | NA |
| Study type | Interventional |
| Summary | This functional magnetic-resonance imaging study of the brain will feature a within-subject crossover design to investigate the effects of a placebo cream on painful thermal stimulation rendered upon eight body sites. The investigators aim to 1.) improve the understanding of how the brain represents thermal pain responses somatotopically (i.e., across different body-sites) 2.) to test these brain representations with and without the presence of a pain-targeted placebo intervention, and 3.) to examine how these brain representations change prior to vs. during the delivery of thermal pain. They predict that placebo cream will downregulate the intensity of aversive brain activity representations, and to a lesser degree, sensation and somatotopic representations, both prior to and during painf |
| Who can participate | Inclusion Criteria: * Subject must be a volunteer with a minimum age of 18 years and must be able and willing to provide written informed consent. * If female, the subject must be non-lactating, not pregnant, and using a reliable contraception method. * Subject must be able to read and speak English. * Subject must be able to understand and follow the instructions of the investigator and understand all screening questionnaires. * Subject must have no current or recent history of pathological pain. * Subject must have abstained from alcohol and substance use for 48 hours. * Subject must pass all fMRI screening tests. Exclusion Criteria: * If female, pregnancy. * Inability to tolerate the scanning procedures (e.g., claustrophobia). * Metal in body or prior history working with metal fragment |
| Ages | 18 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Accepts healthy volunteers | Yes |
| Lead sponsor | Trustees of Dartmouth College |
| Locations | Hanover, New Hampshire, United States |
| Start date | 2021-03-19 |
| NCT ID | NCT04653064 |
| Official listing | https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04653064 |