Brain Imaging and Pain: Analysis of Placebo Analgesia

March 19, 2015 updated by: University of Florida
This study examines the brain activation associated with placebo pain reduction.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is a basic science study of the mechanisms of placebo analgesia in asymptomatic healthy individuals. Each participant receives a baseline pain testing session, followed by a conditioning paradigm that results in expectation of pain relief and conditioning. They then undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging during either placebo (conditioned analgesia) or baseline. To examine order effects and habituation, the participants also either undergo a repeated placebo or a repeated baseline. The primary dependent measures in the study are the fMRI determined regions of interest, in a network of brain areas associated with pain processing. The anticipated outcome of the study is the alteration of network connectivity between sensory, affective, evaluative areas of the brain associated with placebo.

Because this is not a traditional clinical trial, there are not traditional efficacy criteria, rather the outcomes are changes in brain function from manipulations of patient expectation and classical conditioning.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

140

Phase

  • Phase 1

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

  • United States
    • Florida
      • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32611
        • University of Florida

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

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • at least 18 years of age
  • english speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pain condition
  • pregnant

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Asymptomatic control participants receive Natural History and Placebo instructions in a within-subject design. There are no patients, or active agents in this study. It is not a Clinical Trial.
Other: Placebo Instructions
There is no intervention in this study. It is not a Clinical Trial. The study is an investigation of the neural basis of placebo analgesia.
Active Comparator: Control condition
The control condition represents a no-intervention, repeated baseline control, since the "active" intervention in this study is placebo.
Other: Control condition
This protocol represents an investigation of the neural mechanisms of placebo analgesia. As such, it does not represent the traditional clinical trial design. Instead the "active" intervention is a placebo, and the comparison condition is a no-intervention control.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Brain Imaging Results
Time Frame: 2 weeks from baseline
This outcomes represents the neural network underpinnings of the placebo analgesic response. It is the result of a network analysis using structural equation modeling of fMRI determined brain activations.
2 weeks from baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Florida

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael E Robinson, Ph.D., University of Florida

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

January 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 2, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 2, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

August 4, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 20, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 19, 2015

Last Verified

March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01 AT001424-05A

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.

Clinical Trials on Brain Imaging of Placebo Analgesia

Clinical Trials on Placebo Instructions

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in South Korea

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe