Brain and Genetic Predictors of Individual Differences in Pain and Analgesia

NCT03781570 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: Pain Genetics
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 541
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is to gain a better understanding of pain processing in the brain. Our understanding of how pain is processed in the brain is limited. We are testing for individual differences in pain perception and emotion.

Conditions

Pain, Acute

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Pain Rating Scores Made on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS)

  Self reported pain using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) ranging from 0-100 (with 0 representing "no pain at all" and 100 representing "most intense pain imaginable (in the context of the experiment)). Higher scores indicate more pain. 0 is the minimum value and 100 is the maximum value. This scale is used for both thermal and mechanical pain. Reported values reflect averages of VAS ratings for individual stimuli for each of thermal and mechanical pain.

  Measured during pain tasks at a single 4 hour experimental session (within one month of screening completion).

Study Arms (1)

Single group

All participants are administered Control and Placebo creams (two interventions), with thermal and mechanical painful stimuli delivered repeatedly after each intervention. The order of intervention testing is Control, Placebo, Placebo, Control in a fixed order. All interventions are completed within a single testing session.

Behavioral: Placebo Cream; Behavioral: Control Cream

Interventions

Placebo Cream BEHAVIORAL

In the Placebo intervention, participants are given an inert cream with instructions that it is "Prodicaine, an effective pain-relieving drug". The cream is applied to two fingers on the left hand.

Single group

Control Cream BEHAVIORAL

In the Control intervention, participants are given an inert cream with instructions that it is "a control cream with no effects" . The cream is applied to two fingers on the left hand.

Single group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 55 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The CTS includes 727 same-sex twin pairs between 26-38 years old (as of Spring 2017), originally derived from the Colorado Twin Registry, a population based registry, housed at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics (IBG) at the University of Colorado since 1984, with three previous waves of data collection (1997-2002, 2002-2008, and 2009-2014).

You may qualify if:

• Participants must be registered in the Colorado Community Twin Sample (CTS).

You may not qualify if:

• Not being registered in the Colorado Community Twin Sample (CTS).
• Any MRI contraindications.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Trustees of Dartmouth College: lead
• QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Colorado, Boulder

Boulder, Colorado, 80309, United States

Location

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

We will collect saliva samples during the fMRI scan day and genotype using the same facility (same laboratory, personnel, platform, and protocols), following standard GWAS quality control procedures.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Acute Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Tor D Wager, PhD
• Organization: Dartmouth College

Tor.D.Wager@Dartmouth.edu

(603)-646-2196

Study Officials

• Tor Wager, PHD

  University of Colorado, Boulder

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory; Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute for Cognitive Science

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 14, 2018
• First Posted: December 20, 2018
• Study Start: November 7, 2018
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2023
• Study Completion: October 1, 2023
• Last Updated: June 4, 2025
• Results First Posted: May 21, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Locations

US (1)