None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Pain is the primary reason for patients to seek medical care. A survey found that 31% of the population in the united state and 19% of adult European population had experienced moderate to severe pain, with serious consequences for their social and working lives. The exorbitant medical treatment costs paid by governments and individuals can be decreased by better therapeutic approaches. Parallel areas of brain are involved in experience of Pain which make it a complex issue to manage. Lateral parallel nuclei and somatosensory cortex (S1) are responsible for discrimination of quality, location, and intensity of pain, whereas medical thalamic nuclei, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and limbic system have been proposed to subserve emotional dimensions of pain. Furthermore, it is suggested that neural communications between S1 and primary motor cortex (M1) may leads to motor cortex neuroplastisity to reduce movement in order to prevent further injuries. Non-invasive therapeutic approaches, including medication, electrotherapy, and manual therapy, can provide satisfactory pain control in only 20%-30% of cases of pain syndromes. In order to develop a more effective treatment method, it is therefore, needed to test other efficient methods. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), including anodal and cathodal tDCS, is one of the novel painless techniques used by neuroscientists to relieve pain. The optimal parameters, stimulation site and current density, for effective application of tDCS, have not been studied yet. The findings of current study will be used to optimise the effects of new therapeutic approaches for pain relief.
Interventions
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), including anodal (a-tDCS) and cathodal (c-tDCS), is intervention in the current project.
Since it is a new technique, the optimal parameters is unclear yet. Based on the literature, the safe current density should be less than 0.054 mV/cm2 and the duration of application should be less than 40 min.
In the current project, healthy participants received intervention with tDCS under each of five different conditions in a random order: a-tDCS of prim
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), including anodal (a-tDCS) and cathodal (c-tDCS), is intervention in the current project. Since it is a new technique, the optimal parameters is unclear yet. Based on the literature, the safe current density should be less than 0.054 mV/cm2 and the duration of application should be less than 40 min. In the current project, healthy participants received intervention with tDCS under each of five different conditions in a random order: a-tDCS of primary motor cortex , a-tDCS of primary sensory cortex, a-tDCS of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, sham a-tDCS, and no tDCS. The experimental sessions were separated by at least 72 hours to avoid interference or carry-over effects of tDCS, and completed at the same time of day to avoid diurnal variation. The duration of tDCS application was 20 minutes with amplitude of 0.3 mA and electrode size of 1.5 * 2 cm ( current density of 0.029 mV/cm2) in all experiments.
Sponsors
Shapour Jaberzadeh
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 49 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
All participants should be: _ Healthy - Right-handers as determined by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory _ between 18 and 49 years
Exclusion criteria
volunteers will be excluded if they have: - Clinically significant or unstable medical, neuropsychiatric - Chronic pain disorder - History of substance abuse or dependence - Any use of central nervous system-effective medication - History of brain surgery, tumour, or intracranial metal implantation - All participants will be interviewed and examined by a physician prior to enrolment in the study and provided written, informed consent.
Outcome results
None listed