Do Emotions and Pain Combined Affect Mechanical Pain Thresholds and Other Pain-related Variables

December 27, 2025 updated by: Helena Gunnarsson, Linnaeus University
The purpose of this study is to investigate if different emotional states could influence mechanical pain thresholds and other pain - related variables such as pain tolerance, pain intensity and pain - related negative affect.

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.

Detailed Description

Participants will be randomized into 4 different groups watching different short video-clips (2.20 min), while at the same time experience short-lasting, experimentally induced pain. The negative emotions group will watch an uncomfortable short video containing violence and blood, the positive emotions group will watch a video containing a stand-up comedy show, the neutral emotions group will watch a video about how to paint a house, and the control group will just wait for 2.20 min, without any instructions about what to think about. Pressure pain thresholds will be measured with an algometer before and after the video-clip combined with experimental pain interventions.

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.
180

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Sweden
      • Vaxjo, Sweden, 343 32
        • Linnaeus University

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Above 18 years of age
  • Fluent in Swedish.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pain anywhere in body during the test session
  • Known neurological disease.

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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: Negative emotion, positive emotion, neutral emotion, control with experimental pain
The intervention includes either a negatively emotionally valenced video, a positively emotionally valenced video, a neutrally emotionally valenced video and experimental pain from the cold pressor test that are simultaneosly applied.
Other: Emotional intervention
The participant will watch a short video-clip with negative emotional content while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.
Other: Emotional intervention
The participant will watch a short video-clip with positive emotional content while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.
Other: Emotional intervention
The participant will watch a short video-clip with neutral emotional content while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.
Other: Emotional intervention
The participant will wait for 2.20 minutes while simultaneously experience experimentally induced pain.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs)
Time Frame: For each participant, baseline PPTs are measured, intervention follows and intervention PPTs are measured. This will be conducted at one appointment (30 min) for each participant. Recruitment for single appointments will take place for 18 months.
Pressure pain thresholds will be measured i kPa with a handheld algometer (Somedic AB).
For each participant, baseline PPTs are measured, intervention follows and intervention PPTs are measured. This will be conducted at one appointment (30 min) for each participant. Recruitment for single appointments will take place for 18 months.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain tolerance (time in seconds the left hand is immersed in cold water 1 degree C).
Time Frame: At a single session (30 min), the participant will keep their hand immersed in cold water for as long as possible while watching a video. This time will be measured in seconds. Participants are successively recruited for single appointmentsfor 18 months.
The measure pain tolerance equals the time the time the participant keeps their left hand immersed in cold water (1 degree C), before they decide to withdraw their hand. This will be measured in seconds. For each participant, the maximum time to keep the hand immersed in water is 300 seconds.
At a single session (30 min), the participant will keep their hand immersed in cold water for as long as possible while watching a video. This time will be measured in seconds. Participants are successively recruited for single appointmentsfor 18 months.
Pain intensity on the NRS
Time Frame: The pain intensity will be estimated at every single session appointment (30 min) after the intervention on the NRS (Numerical Rating Scale). The participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments for 18 months.
Participants will rate their perceived pain intensity on the NRS (Numerical Rating Scale) after the intervention (film-clip combined with pain induction using the cold pressor apparatus with cold water 1 degree C. This will take place on a single session appointment for each participant. Participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments for 18 months.
The pain intensity will be estimated at every single session appointment (30 min) after the intervention on the NRS (Numerical Rating Scale). The participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments for 18 months.
Pain-related negative affect on the NRS-A
Time Frame: Negative affect will be estimated at every single test session (30 min) on the NRS-A (Numerical Rating Scale-Anxiety) directly after the intervention. The participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments during 18 months.
Perceived pain-related negative affect will be estimated on the NRS-A (Numerical Rating Scale- Anxiety) after the intervention (film-clip combined with pain induction with the cold pressor apparatus with cold water 1 degree C).The pain intensity will be estimated at every single session appointment (30 min) after the intervention on the NRS (Numerical Rating Scale). The participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments for 18 months.
Negative affect will be estimated at every single test session (30 min) on the NRS-A (Numerical Rating Scale-Anxiety) directly after the intervention. The participants will be successively recruited for single session appointments during 18 months.

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.
Linnaeus University

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.
August 31, 2025

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.
October 30, 2025

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.
October 30, 2025

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).
February 12, 2025

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.
February 19, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

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.
February 21, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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 30, 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 27, 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.
February 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.
  • Dnr 2024-03992-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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