Feasibility and Effects of Noninvasive Brain Stimulation on Pain Perception in People With Fibromyalgia

June 11, 2026 updated by: Pulkit Grover

Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for Noninvasive Study of Pain Circuits in Patients With Chronic Pain

The goal of this interventional study is to learn whether noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) will have an effect on pain perception in people with fibromyalgia. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Do repeated sessions of NIBS lead to a reduction in perceived pain? Do repeated sessions of NIBS lead to an improvement in quality of life?

Researchers will compare different brain targets to see if effects are different between them.

Participants will receive repeated daily sessions of NIBS over 4 weeks with application of pressure pain algometry, and complete various questionnaires.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Participants will randomly receive primary motor cortex (M1) or occipital lobe NIBS over 2 weeks, and after a wash-out period will receive NIBS of the other target over 2 weeks. Each session will also evaluate pressure pain algometry, various questionnaires to assess changes in fibromyalgia symptoms and quality of life (up to 5 hours per session)

NIBS administration will consist of 1000 electrical pulses of <1 ms duration each.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Phase

  • 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 Backup

  • Name: Benedict J Alter, PhD
  • Phone Number: 412-677-0575
  • Email: alterbj@upmc.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15206
        • UPMC Pain Management
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Formal diagnosis of fibromyalgia made by a practicing physician
  • Pain resistant to common analgesics and medications for chronic pain
  • Existing pain for more than 3 months with an average of at least 4 on a 0 to 10 Numerical Rating Scale (NRS)
  • Females of child bearing potential must be at least one of the following totally abstinent from heterosexual intercourse since the last menses before start of study, or agree to concurrent use of at least two methods of birth control throughout study participation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • If the subject is non-ambulatory.
  • If the subject is female of child-bearing potential, subject must not be pregnant.
  • Subject must not have a history of brain surgery or uncontrolled neurological conditions, such as seizure, fainting spells, transient ischemic attack.
  • Subject must not have lifetime history of severe, uncontrolled mood disorders (anxiety, depression, bipolar), psychotic disorders, other neural disorders, or heart disease.
  • Subject must not have any implanted electronic or metallic devices.
  • Subject must not have heart diseases, including known arrhythmia, or severe liver or severe gastrointestinal disease or chronic severe infectious disease (e.g. HIV/AIDS).

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: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Primary Motor Cortex Stimulation, then Occipital Lobe Stimulation
The primary motor cortex will be targeted first, then the occipital lobe.
Device: Primary Motor Cortex Stimulation
Short (<1 ms), high amplitude (>10 mA) noninvasive electrical pulses delivered at 1 Hz on the scalp surface. This intervention will target the primary motor cortex (M1).
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Electrical Stimulation
Device: Occipital Lobe Stimulation
Short (<1 ms), high amplitude (>10 mA) noninvasive electrical pulses delivered at 1 Hz on the scalp surface. This intervention will target the occipital lobe.
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Electrical Stimulation
Experimental: Occipital Lobe Stimulation, then Primary Motor Cortex Stimulation
The occipital lobe will be targeted first, then the primary motor cortex.
Device: Primary Motor Cortex Stimulation
Short (<1 ms), high amplitude (>10 mA) noninvasive electrical pulses delivered at 1 Hz on the scalp surface. This intervention will target the primary motor cortex (M1).
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Electrical Stimulation
Device: Occipital Lobe Stimulation
Short (<1 ms), high amplitude (>10 mA) noninvasive electrical pulses delivered at 1 Hz on the scalp surface. This intervention will target the occipital lobe.
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of the transcranial electrical stimulation protocol
Time Frame: From end of the last study session until up to 6 months after.
Feasibility of the protocol will be measured quantitatively using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) score. Score ranges from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher level of feasibility. It will also be assessed qualitatively via participant interviews.
From end of the last study session until up to 6 months after.
Tolerability of transcranial electrical stimulation protocol
Time Frame: Every day from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
Determined qualitatively from study-related participant attrition rate (%) and adherence to protocol (%).
Every day from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
Acceptability of transcranial electrical stimulation protocol
Time Frame: From end of the last study session until up to 6 months after.
Acceptability of the protocol will be measured quantitatively using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) score. Score ranges from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating higher level of acceptability. It will also be assessed qualitatively via participant interviews.
From end of the last study session until up to 6 months after.
Pressure pain threshold (PPT)
Time Frame: At every study session from Session 1 until the last study session.
PPT (in lbf) will be measured using a digital algometer, which will be used to press down on the participants' thumb nails and legs to assess pain sensitization throughout the study.
At every study session from Session 1 until the last study session.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR)
Time Frame: Weekly from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
FIQR will be used to assess the participant's experience with fibromyalgia (symptoms and impact on daily life). Score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater severity of fibromyalgia symptoms and functional impairment.
Weekly from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)
Time Frame: Daily, from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
BPI will be used to assess the participant's pain severity and interference. Score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating worse (more severe) pain or interference.
Daily, from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29)
Time Frame: Weekly, from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.
We will use the standardized survey score PROMIS-29 to assess physical and mental health in seven domains (e.g., physical function, anxiety, sleep disturbance etc.). Each question score ranges from one to five, corresponding to the intensity within the question's domain. Survey scores will be converted to a t-score metric and assessed.
Weekly, from enrollment until up to 6 months after the last study session.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of steps
Time Frame: Every day from enrollment until up to 4 weeks after the last study session.
Assess change in number of steps taken daily using a wearable device.
Every day from enrollment until up to 4 weeks after the last study session.
Active zone minutes
Time Frame: Every day from enrollment until up to 4 weeks after the last study session.
Assess change in number of minutes spent in active heart rate zone using a wearable device.
Every day from enrollment until up to 4 weeks after the last study session.
Sleep score
Time Frame: Every day from enrollment until up to 4 weeks after the last study session.
Assess change in sleep quality using a wearable device.
Every day from enrollment until up to 4 weeks after the last study session.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Pulkit Grover

Collaborators

University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Benedict J Alter, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
  • Principal Investigator: Pulkit Grover, PhD, Carnegie Mellon 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 (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 11, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY2025_00000279

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

IPD may be shared upon reasonable request to the study contacts.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will become available after publication per journal and funding entity protocols.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be made available by reasonable request and/or per journal and funding entity protocols.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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