Operant Conditioning of Sensory Brain Responses to Reduce Phantom Limb Pain in People With Limb Amputation (OCS-PLP)

Operant Conditioning of Sensory Evoked Potentials to Reduce Phantom Limb Pain

The study will investigate the application of a non-pharmacological operant conditioning approach to reduce phantom limb pain (PLP). PLP afflicts 60-90% people who have lost a limb. It can last for years and lead to drug dependence, job loss, and poor quality of life. Current non-pharmacological interventions are encouraging but limited, and their efficacy remains unclear. Limb amputation is known to lead to abnormal sensorimotor reorganization in the brain. Multiple studies have shown that PLP severity is correlated with the extent of this reorganization. The current study will train participants via realtime feedback of brain responses to promote more normal sensorimotor response, with the goal to reduce phantom limb pain.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Pain; Lower Limb Amputation; Phantom Pain; Upper Limb Amputation; Phantom Limb Pain After Amputation
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Operant Conditioning with Peripheral Stimulation; Behavioral: Control Group with Peripheral Stimulation Only

Detailed Description

The study will be recruiting people who have had a limb amputation (traumatic or atraumatic) and are experiencing chronic phantom limb pain (PLP). Participants will be asked to be seated during the study session. Non-painful peripheral stimulation will be applied to elicit an evoked response (from either muscle or brain). Electrodes will be placed on the muscles and or scalp to record these electrical brain responses during the study session. Visual feedback based on the response will be provided in pseudo realtime. The study will involve three 1-hour sessions per week for 8-9 weeks, followed by 2 follow-up sessions at 3 and 6 months after the last session. Assessments of pain intensity and quality, and neurophysiological sensorimotor response, will be performed before the first session, after the last session, and at follow-up sessions. Additional electroencephalography (EEG) based assessments will also be performed as exploratory measures, to assess inter- and intra- hemispheric functional connectivity and sensorimotor responses associated with amputation and operant conditioning training.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • Albany, New York, United States, 12208-3410
      • Albany VA Medical Center Samuel S. Stratton, Albany, NY

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• An upper (or lower limb) amputation more than 6 months ago, that has produced a moderate to severe hand/arm (or foot/leg) phantom limb pain,
• Male or female age 18 years or older,
• Medical clearance to participate,
• Reasonable expectation that ongoing medications, if any, will be maintained without change for at least 4 months from the start of the study,
• Able to provide informed consent and to understand the study instructions,
• Able to participate in the specific study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of other medically unstable and/or infectious condition (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes with recent weight loss, diabetic coma, frequent insulin reactions),
• A cardiac condition (e.g., history of myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure),
• Cognitive and/or attention difficulties affecting participant's ability to follow study directions,
• Known skin disorders or damaged skin at the anticipated at the scalp for EEG recording (e.g., unhealed wounds, broken skin).
• Metal implants above the chest

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Group; Intervention group receives peripheral stimulation with realtime operant conditioning feedback training.	Behavioral: Operant Conditioning with Peripheral Stimulation; This is a training intervention to strengthen the weakened sensorimotor responses and reduce pain, after a limb amputation. Non-painful peripheral stimulation will be applied to elicit a response.
Experimental: Control Group; Control group receives peripheral stimulation but without operant conditioning feedback.	Behavioral: Control Group with Peripheral Stimulation Only; This is a control intervention in which the non-painful peripheral stimulation will be applied, same as the operant conditioning group, but no training feedback will be provided.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Pain as Measured by the Short form-McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ)	The Sf-MPQ assesses the pain quality in the sensory (11 items) and affective (4 items) dimensions. Each item is rated on an intensity scale of 0 (none) to 3 (severe). Total score is obtained by summing the scores for all items and the range is 0 (no pain) to 45 (severe pain).	Baseline, end of training (session 20) i.e. approximately 10 weeks from baseline, follow-up at 3-months after training ends, follow-up at 6-months after training ends
Change in Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SSEP) Latency as Measured by a Tactile Event Related Potential Test	The evoked response to tactile stimuli will be captured with 64 channel non-invasive scalp electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes placed on the scalp. SSEP will be assessed at the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the amputated limb. A reduction in latency will indicate improvement in the sensorimotor cortical response.	Baseline, end of training (session 20) i.e. approximately 10 weeks from baseline, follow-up at 3-months after training ends, follow-up at 6-months after training ends
Change in Evoked Potential (EP) Amplitude and threshhold	The evoked response to tactile stimuli will be captured in one of two ways 1) EMG and Reflex evoke responses from cutaneous nerve on the residual Limb and 2) With 64 channel non-invasive scalp electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes placed on the scalp. SSEP will be assessed at the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the amputated limb. An increase in amplitude will indicate improvement in the sensorimotor response and tolerance.	Baseline, end of training (session 20) i.e. approximately 10 weeks from baseline, follow-up at 3-months after training ends, follow-up at 6-months after training ends

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Impact of Pain on Quality of Life as Measured by the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI)	This is a 52-item inventory with 12 subscales over 3 domains. Each item is scored on a 0-6 scale. Scores for each subscale are obtained by taking the mean of the scores of all items in that subscale. Higher scores indicate more severity in that subscale. Part I includes five scales designed to measure important dimensions of the chronic pain experience; Part II assesses patients' perceptions of the degree to which spouses or significant others display Solicitous, Distracting or Negative responses to their pain behaviors and complaints. Part III assesses patients' report of the frequency with which they engage in four categories of common everyday activities; Household Chores, Outdoor Work, Activities Away from Home, and Social Activities.	Baseline, end of training (session 20) i.e. approximately 10 weeks from baseline, follow-up at 3-months after training ends, follow-up at 6-months after training ends

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jodi A Brangaccio, PT, Albany VA Medical Center Samuel S. Stratton, Albany, NY

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Thompson AK, Wolpaw JR. Operant conditioning of spinal reflexes: from basic science to clinical therapy. Front Integr Neurosci. 2014 Mar 18;8:25. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2014.00025. eCollection 2014.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): August 29, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 9, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 18, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): May 30, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 14, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Brain-Computer Interface; Amputation; Electroencephalography; Phantom limb pain; Operant Conditioning; Event Related Potentials; Tactile sense; Instrumental learning
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Postoperative Complications; Pathologic Processes; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Perceptual Disorders; Pain, Postoperative; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Chronic Pain; Phantom Limb; Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Research Design; Epidemiologic Methods; Research Design; Methods; Control Groups
• Other Study ID Numbers: F4410-P; 1I21RX004410-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

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