Analgesic Effect of Non Invasive Stimulation : Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of Opercular-insular Cortex (STIM-INSULA)

December 13, 2025 updated by: Hospices Civils de Lyon

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Neuropathic Chronic Pain : Study of the Opercular-insular Cortex Stimulation

The aim of this study is to evaluate, versus placebo, the analgesic efficacy of the opercular-insular cortex stimulation with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), in both healthy subjects and chronic neuropathic pain patients. In healthy subjects analgesia by tDCS will be assessed using both laser stimuli and cold pressor test. In patients the assessment regards their chronic pain (ratings for ongoing, evoked and paroxysmal pain, sleep and fatigue). Opercular-insular stimulation is obtained via a combined 6-electrode montage and by bi-vestibular stimulation (since vestibular pathways reach the posterior insular cortex). In patients, three separate conditions (two active and one sham) will be tested in randomised order. In healthy subjects, two other conditions are added to control for attention and distraction confounders.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
24

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • France
      • Bron, France, 69500
        • Hospices Civils de Lyon - NeuroPain lab - CRNL

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • healthy subjects aged from 18 to 70 years, male or female, with social security protection, fully informed and having given their written consent.
  • patients aged from 18 to 80 years, male or female, with social security protection , fully informed and having given their written consent.
  • pharmacoresistant neuropathic pain during at least one year,
  • without any change of the pharmacological treatment since at least one month

Exclusion Criteria:

In healthy subjects only:

  • history of chronic pain
  • analgesic medication within 24h before stimulation

For patients only: new analgesic treatment within 1 month before consent

for both:

  • drug addiction, headache, epilepsy
  • ferromagnetic intracranial device
  • implanted stimulator
  • recent neurosurgery and open wound of the scalp.
  • absence of contraceptive method for women of childbearing age

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: patients
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation of opercular-insular cortex - anodal active tDCS session
transcranial direct current stimulations of opercular-insular cortex. Three sessions separated by a minimum of 2 weeks, with three different conditions: one session with anodal active tDCS, one with active control, and one with sham control.
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation of opercular-insular cortex - active control session
transcranial direct current stimulations of opercular-insular cortex. Three sessions separated by a minimum of 2 weeks, with three different conditions: one session with anodal active tDCS, one with active control, and one with sham control.
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation of opercular-insular cortex - sham control session.
transcranial direct current stimulations of opercular-insular cortex. Three sessions separated by a minimum of 2 weeks, with three different conditions: one session with anodal active tDCS, one with active control, and one with sham control.
Active Comparator: healthy subjects
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation of opercular-insular cortex - anodal active tDCS session
transcranial direct current stimulations of opercular-insular cortex. Three sessions separated by a minimum of 2 weeks, with three different conditions: one session with anodal active tDCS, one with active control, and one with sham control.
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation of opercular-insular cortex - active control session
transcranial direct current stimulations of opercular-insular cortex. Three sessions separated by a minimum of 2 weeks, with three different conditions: one session with anodal active tDCS, one with active control, and one with sham control.
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation of opercular-insular cortex - sham control session.
transcranial direct current stimulations of opercular-insular cortex. Three sessions separated by a minimum of 2 weeks, with three different conditions: one session with anodal active tDCS, one with active control, and one with sham control.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
In healthy subjects : Change in subjective pain and (when applicable) in cortical evoked potentials with pain scale
Time Frame: just before the tDCS session at Day 0
just before the tDCS session at Day 0
In patients : Changes in daily ratings of global pain
Time Frame: just before the tDCS session at Day 0
just before the tDCS session at Day 0
In healthy subjects : Change in subjective pain and (when applicable) in cortical evoked potentials
Time Frame: just after the tDCS session at Day 0
just after the tDCS session at Day 0
In patients : Changes in daily ratings of global pain
Time Frame: just after the tDCS session at Day 0
just after the tDCS session at Day 0
In patients : Changes in daily ratings of global pain
Time Frame: at week 1
at week 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
ongoing pain with pain scale
Time Frame: just before the tDCS session at Day 0
just before the tDCS session at Day 0
ongoing pain with pain scale
Time Frame: just after the tDCS session at Day 0
just after the tDCS session at Day 0
ongoing pain as assessed by daily ratings
Time Frame: during one week
during one week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Hospices Civils de Lyon

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Luis GARCIA-LARREA, MD, NeuroPain lab - CRNL (Inserm U1028 - UCBL)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 2, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 28, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 28, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 22, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 6, 2017

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 10, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 19, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 13, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 69HCL15_0345
  • 2016-A00022-49 (Other Identifier: ID-RCB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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