Examination of Psychological and Physiological Pathways Linking Gratitude and Pain

Examination of Psychological and Physiological Pathways Linking Gratitude and Pain and the Moderating Effects of COMT Genotype on These Associations

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effects of a brief gratitude intervention on individuals' psychological and physiological responses to acute pain. Furthermore, these associations will be examined in the context of genetic variations associated with both pain and psychological processes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Acute Pain; Emotions; Positive Thinking
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Behavioral Writing Intervention

Detailed Description

After being informed about the study and potential risks, all patients giving written informed consent will be randomized to a behavioral writing intervention and a cold pressor task. Participants will be randomized to a gratitude or neutral writing condition.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 145
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • South Dakota
    • Spearfish, South Dakota, United States, 57799
      • Black Hills State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• must be pain-free
• must be at least 18 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

• cardiovascular disease
• Raynaud's disease
• epilepsy
• being pregnant
• having a current injury to or open cut or sore on one's non-dominant hand
• history of fainting or seizures
• history of frostbite in non-dominant hand
• chronic pain conditions (e.g., fibromyalgia, neuropathy, arthritis)
• diabetes
• malignant tumor
• chronic lung disease
• liver disease
• kidney disease
• gastrointestinal diseases
• currently taking opioids

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Gratitude Writing; In the gratitude writing condition, participants will write continuously for 5 minutes about someone they are grateful for.	Behavioral: Behavioral Writing Intervention; This behavioral intervention will require participants to write about certain aspects of their lives.
Placebo Comparator: Neutral Writing; Participants in the neutral writing condition will write continuously for 5 minutes about how they got to the research laboratory.	Behavioral: Behavioral Writing Intervention; This behavioral intervention will require participants to write about certain aspects of their lives.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in Pain Tolerance to Cold Pressor Test	Pain tolerance will be measured in terms of how many seconds individuals can keep their hand submerged in near-freezing water, for a maximum of up to 90 seconds (the task will be ended at that point).	Up to 1.5 minutes of Cold Pressor Test
Differences in Pain Onset to Cold Pressor Test	Pain onset will be measured in seconds between participants submerging their hands into near-freezing water and the self-reported beginning of pain.	Up to 1.5 minutes of Cold Pressor Test
Change in Subjective Pain Ratings From Baseline to 10-minutes Post Cold Pressor Test	Self-reported measures of pain will be reported on a numeric scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (strongest pain imaginable every 15 seconds throughout a cold pressor test and again 1 minute and 10 minutes post cold pressor test.	Baseline to 10 minutes post cold pressor test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in Autonomic Nervous System Responsivity	Autonomic nervous system responsivity will be assessed using levels of salivary alpha-amylase. Unstimulated whole saliva samples will be collected using the passive drool technique at the following time points: 1) immediately following completion of baseline surveys, 2) immediately following the experimental writing task, 3) 1-minute post-cold pressor test, and 4) 10-minutes post-cold pressor test.	Baseline to 10 minutes post cold pressor test
Differences in Pain-Related Cognition	The Rumination and Reappraisal subscales from the Pain-Related Cognitive Processes Questionnaire were used to assess the extent to which individuals engaged in various thought processes during the cold pressor test. Each subscale is comprised of 6-items and answered on a 0 (Not at all) to 4 (All or most of the time) scale. Scores on each item are summed to calculate an overall score which can range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicative of greater use of each cognitive process.	Immediately after the Cold Pressor Test

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Black Hills State University
• Collaborators: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nathan Deichert, PhD, Black Hills State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 10, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 19, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): August 19, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 6, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 30, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Acute Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: BlackHillsHealthPsych; P20GM103443 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: All IPD that underlie results will be in a publication.

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