Effects of Social Presence and Perception in Virtual Reality on Pain

NCT03157362 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 1701006910
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 105
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This experiment aims to examine the effects of transportation via social presence in "near" and "far" virtual environments, on pain threshold in two groups: 1. healthy volunteers in an induced pain task, and 2. older adults suffering from pain. In the first, pilot group, a within-subjects study, participants will complete a series of induced-pain heat ramps in virtual environments that are "near" or "far"-in other words, they will either duplicate their actual physical environment, or represent another location. A second factor in this experiment will be mediated social presence, in which participants interact with confederates as avatars in either condition. The hypotheses follow: H1: Participants who feel present in a remote location will have a higher pain tolerance than those in a near location. H2: Participants who feel socially present with a confederate will have a higher pain tolerance than those who are alone in a virtual environment. H3: There will be an interaction between social presence and virtual environment such that participants who feel socially present in a remote location will have the highest pain tolerance overall. Building on these results,the next step will be a long-term study on older adult pain patients. In this step, the most successful condition in the first study to lightweight, portable headsets that can be used outside of the lab environment. This intervention will be tested on older adult patients who are suffering from chronic pain.

Conditions

Chronic Pain, Widespread

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Pain threshold in degrees tolerated at end of trial

  Change in temperature from the beginning to the end of each trial (when the heat ramp begins, and when participants remove their hands) will be noted in milliseconds.

  The beginning and end of each trial < 90 seconds

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Self-reported social presence

  ~15 minutes at the end of each trial

• Self-reported environmental presence

  ~15 minutes at the end of each trial

Study Arms (4)

Time 1

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participant will be randomly assigned to one of the four interventions; either Near Non-Social, Near Social, Far Non-Social, or Far Social

Other: Near Non-Social; Other: Near Social; Other: Far Non-Social; Other: Far Social

Time 2

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participant will be randomly assigned to one of the remaining three interventions; either Near Non-Social, Near Social, Far Non-Social, or Far Social

Other: Near Non-Social; Other: Near Social; Other: Far Non-Social; Other: Far Social

Time 3

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participant will be randomly assigned to one of the remaining two interventions; either Near Non-Social, Near Social, Far Non-Social, or Far Social

Other: Near Non-Social; Other: Near Social; Other: Far Non-Social; Other: Far Social

Time 4

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participant will complete the remaining intervention; either Near Non-Social, Near Social, Far Non-Social, or Far Social

Other: Near Non-Social; Other: Near Social; Other: Far Non-Social; Other: Far Social

Interventions

Near Non-Social OTHER

Participants will be stably seated, and observed by a research assistant, as they complete an induced pain threshold task while they experience a virtual environment that reproduces the room in which they are seated.

Time 1; Time 2; Time 3; Time 4

Near Social OTHER

Participants will be stably seated, and observed by a research assistant, as they complete an induced pain threshold task while they experience a virtual environment that reproduces the room in which they are seated, and converse with a confederate represented by an avatar.

Time 1; Time 2; Time 3; Time 4

Far Non-Social OTHER

Participants will be stably seated, and observed by a research assistant, as they complete an induced pain threshold task while they experience a virtual environment that reproduces a different room.

Time 1; Time 2; Time 3; Time 4

Far Social OTHER

Participants will be stably seated, and observed by a research assistant, as they complete an induced pain threshold task while they experience a virtual environment that reproduces another room, and converse with a confederate represented by an avatar.

Time 1; Time 2; Time 3; Time 4

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Consenting adult

You may not qualify if:

• History of cardiovascular disorder
• History of fainting or seizures
• Open cut or sore on hand to be thermally tested
• Burn or sunburn on hand to be thermally tested.
• Pregnancy
• Prone to motion sickness, or have balance or dizziness conditions
• Recent concussion
• Seizure disorders
• History of fainting or seizures
• Visual impairment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Cornell University: lead
• Weill Medical College of Cornell University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Cornell Virtual Embodiment Lab

Ithaca, New York, 14853, United States

Location

Related Publications (8)

• Hoffman HG, Doctor JN, Patterson DR, Carrougher GJ, Furness TA 3rd. Virtual reality as an adjunctive pain control during burn wound care in adolescent patients. Pain. 2000 Mar;85(1-2):305-9. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3959(99)00275-4.

  PMID: 10692634 BACKGROUND

• F. P. Brooks Jr, 1990. Virtual reality at work. Human Machine Interfaces for Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 67.

  BACKGROUND

• Moseley GL. A pain neuromatrix approach to patients with chronic pain. Man Ther. 2003 Aug;8(3):130-40. doi: 10.1016/s1356-689x(03)00051-1.

  PMID: 12909433 BACKGROUND

• Sanchez-Vives MV, Slater M. From presence to consciousness through virtual reality. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2005 Apr;6(4):332-9. doi: 10.1038/nrn1651.

  PMID: 15803164 BACKGROUND

• Hoffman HG, Sharar SR, Coda B, Everett JJ, Ciol M, Richards T, Patterson DR. Manipulating presence influences the magnitude of virtual reality analgesia. Pain. 2004 Sep;111(1-2):162-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2004.06.013.

  PMID: 15327820 BACKGROUND

• de Tommaso M, Ricci K, Laneve L, Savino N, Antonaci V, Livrea P. Virtual visual effect of hospital waiting room on pain modulation in healthy subjects and patients with chronic migraine. Pain Res Treat. 2013;2013:515730. doi: 10.1155/2013/515730. Epub 2013 Jan 10.

  PMID: 23365736 BACKGROUND

• Brown JL, Sheffield D, Leary MR, Robinson ME. Social support and experimental pain. Psychosom Med. 2003 Mar-Apr;65(2):276-83. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000030388.62434.46.

  PMID: 12651995 BACKGROUND

• Guillory JE, Hancock JT, Woodruff C, Keilman J. Text messaging reduces analgesic requirements during surgery. Pain Med. 2015 Apr;16(4):667-72. doi: 10.1111/pme.12610. Epub 2014 Dec 19.

  PMID: 25529995 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Chronic Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Participants will not be informed of what condition they are assigned to. The research assistants who code the data will also not be informed of condition.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Each participant will experience four conditions, in a random order, crossing "near" and "far" virtual environments, and social presence or no social presence.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 9, 2017
• First Posted: May 17, 2017
• Study Start: February 1, 2018
• Primary Completion: November 8, 2018
• Study Completion: November 8, 2018
• Last Updated: February 7, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)