NCT01860950

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a new medical technology can temporarily alter pain perception. The new technology is called Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
79

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable pain

Timeline
Completed

Started Oct 2012

Longer than P75 for not_applicable pain

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

October 1, 2012

Completed
8 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 21, 2013

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 23, 2013

Completed
3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 1, 2016

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 1, 2016

Completed
2.5 years until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

December 4, 2018

Completed
Last Updated

December 4, 2018

Status Verified

December 1, 2018

Enrollment Period

3.7 years

First QC Date

May 21, 2013

Results QC Date

May 7, 2018

Last Update Submit

December 3, 2018

Conditions

Keywords

Healthy AdultsPain Perception

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Pre-Intervention Pain Tolerance

    Participants will undergo comprehensive laboratory pain assessment including hot and cold, sensory and pain threshold assessment using the Method of Limits with the Pathway Thermo-sensory Analyzer System (Medoc Inc., NC) which is specifically designed for assessing laboratory pain perception.

    Duration of the study visit, approximately 2 hours

  • Post-Intervention Pain Tolerance

    Participants will undergo comprehensive laboratory pain assessment including hot and cold, sensory and pain threshold assessment using the Method of Limits with the Pathway Thermo-sensory Analyzer System (Medoc Inc., NC) which is specifically designed for assessing laboratory pain perception.

    Duration of the study visit, approximately 2 hours

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Percentage of Participants That Correctly Guessed Condition Assignment

    2 hours

Study Arms (6)

anodal tDCS plus BCI

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants underwent Brief Cognitive intervention (BCI) during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode placed over the left DLPFC and the cathode electrode attached to the right shoulder (Brand Phoresor-II Auto) . BCI entails listening to a 3-minute audio recording designed to mimic key components of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain.

Device: anodal tDCS

anodal tDCS plus pain-education

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants were provided pain education during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode placed over the left DLPFC and the cathode electrode attached to the right shoulder. Pain Education information included Pain Physiology, info on the Gate Theory of Pain, and Central Pain Processing.

Device: anodal tDCS

cathodal tDCS plus BCI

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants underwent Brief Cognitive intervention (BCI) during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode attached to the right shoulder and the cathode electrode placed over the left DLPFC. BCI entails listening to a 3-minute audio recording designed to mimic key components of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain.

Device: cathodal tDCS

cathodal tDCS plus pain-education

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants were provided pain education during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode attached to the right shoulder and the cathode electrode was placed over the left DLPFC. Pain Education information included Pain Physiology, info on the Gate Theory of Pain, and Central Pain Processing.

Device: cathodal tDCS

sham tDCS plus BCI

SHAM COMPARATOR

Participants underwent Brief Cognitive intervention (BCI) during 20 minutes of sham tDCS. For sham, the device was turned on for 30 seconds to temporarily mimic tingling and skin sensations of real tDCS and then ramped-down to 0mA for the duration of the 20-minute session.

Device: sham tDCS

sham tDCS plus pain-education

SHAM COMPARATOR

Participants were provided pain education during 20 minutes of sham tDCS. For sham, the device was turned on for 30 seconds to temporarily mimic tingling and skin sensations of real tDCS and then ramped-down to 0mA for the duration of the 20-minute session. Pain Education information included Pain Physiology, info on the Gate Theory of Pain, and Central Pain Processing.

Device: sham tDCS

Interventions

a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode placed over the left DLPFC and the cathode electrode attached to the right shoulder

Also known as: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Phoresor-II Auto
anodal tDCS plus BCIanodal tDCS plus pain-education

a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode attached to the right shoulder and the cathode electrode placed over the left DLPFC.

Also known as: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Phoresor-II Auto
cathodal tDCS plus BCIcathodal tDCS plus pain-education
sham tDCSDEVICE

Participants were provided pain education during 20 minutes of sham tDCS. For sham, the device was turned on for 30 seconds to temporarily mimic tingling and skin sensations of real tDCS and then ramped-down to 0mA for the duration of the 20-minute session

Also known as: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Phoresor-II Auto
sham tDCS plus BCIsham tDCS plus pain-education

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 75 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Health Individuals recruited from Charleston ,SC

You may not qualify if:

  • Can not be pregnant
  • No history of Depression, chronic pain, Seizers, suicidal implanted metal devices, history of brain surgery, loss of consciousness.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Medical University of South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pain

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurologic ManifestationsSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation TherapyTherapeuticsConvulsive TherapyPsychiatric Somatic TherapiesBehavioral Disciplines and ActivitiesElectroshockPsychological Techniques

Results Point of Contact

Title
Dr. Jeffrey J. Borckardt
Organization
Medical University of South Carolina

Study Officials

  • Jeffrey Borckardt, Ph.D.

    Medical University of South Carolina

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
No
Restrictive Agreement
No

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
Purpose
OTHER
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 21, 2013

First Posted

May 23, 2013

Study Start

October 1, 2012

Primary Completion

June 1, 2016

Study Completion

June 1, 2016

Last Updated

December 4, 2018

Results First Posted

December 4, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-12

Locations