Healthy volunteers
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: Healthy volunteers receive heat pain stimuli in three experimental conditions, that are varied trial-by-trial (within-subject design with three measurement days, MRI measurement on day 2).
Sponsors
Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Neurologie
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: - Healthy - Right-handedness - Fluent in German - Written voluntary consent to participate - Absistence from consuming alcohol 24h before each session
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: - Left-handedness - Substance/drug use in the past 4 weeks before the participation - Regular medication intake in the last 7 days (except hormonal contraceptives) - Use of over-the-counter pain medication in the past 24 hours - Known neurological, internal, psychological, or dermatological conditions - Allergies (contact allergies) - Previous experiences with electro- or nerve stimulation (e.g. in the gym, TENS, etc) - Participation in an experimental study involving electrical stimulation or heat stimulation in the last 6 months - Color blindness or red-green deficiency - Surgical procedures in the past 6 months - Injuries/scars on the forearms - Skin damage (e.g., sunburn) to the forearms - Limited vision or uncorrected vision that cannot be corrected using contact lenses or the scanner glasses (+6 to –6 dioptres) - Astigmatism that cannot be corrected using contact lenses or the scanner glasses - Limited hearing - Acute infections - Any contraindication for MRI measurement (metal or electrical implants, pregnancy, claustrophobia, work with metal, etc.) - Failed calibration in session 1: e.g., the calibration procedure ends up with indistinguishable temperatures for VAS 40, 60 and 80
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Brain activity associated with positive and negative expectations regarding pain during the conditioning and test phase. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Extent of subjective placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia (difference in ratings of actual pain intensity between experimental conditions during the test phase). Extent of subjective expectation (difference in ratings of expected pain intensity between experimental conditions during the conditioning and test phase). Change in subjective expectations (GEEE ratings of expected and experienced treatment efficacy between experimental conditions over the course of the experiment. Other exploratory outcomes are: - the experience and tolerability of the treatment - genetic predispositions (measured via a saliva sample) - somatosensory amplification (Somatosensory Amplification Scale, SSAS) - perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS) - anxiety and depression as a state (State)/current state (State-Trait Anxiety Depression Inventory, STADI State) over the entire course of the experiment - anxiety and depression as a trait (Trait)/general state anxiety and depression (STADI Trait) - fear of pain (Fear of Pain Questionnaire, FPQ-III)) - catastrophizing thoughts related to pain (Pain Catastrophizing Scale, PCS) - personality factors (Big Five Inventory) - behavioral activation vs. inhibition (BIS/BAS) - functional and structural connectivity of the brain (e.g., resting state fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging) | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactHelena Hartmann
Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Neurologie
Outcome results
None listed