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Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Pain Perception

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Pain
Registration Number
NCT01860950
Lead Sponsor
Medical University of South Carolina
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).

Detailed Description

Healthy subjects underwent thermal pain tolerance testing pre- and post intervention. The intervention includes either anodal, cathodal, or sham tDCS for 20 minutes during a pain cognitive intervention \[either brief cognitive intervention (BCI) or general pain education\]. The tDCS brand was the Phoresor-II Auto (Model PM850, Iomed, Salt Lake City Utah, USA) and the current was set to 2.0mA. Electrodes were 4x4 cm sponge electrodes soaked in sterile saline. For anodal and cathodal tDCS, One electrode was placed over the left DLPFC (F3 from the EEG 10-20 system) located via the Beam F3 measurement system and the other electrode was attached to the right shoulder. For sham tDCS, 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.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
79
Inclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 100 Health Individuals recruited from Charleston ,SC
Exclusion Criteria
  • Can not be pregnant
  • No history of Depression, chronic pain, Seizers, suicidal implanted metal devices, history of brain surgery, loss of consciousness.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Post-Intervention Pain ToleranceDuration of the study visit, approximately 2 hours

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.

Pre-Intervention Pain ToleranceDuration of the study visit, approximately 2 hours

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.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Percentage of Participants That Correctly Guessed Condition Assignment2 hours

Participants guessed whether they received real tDCS or Sham tDCS. The base-rate for correctly guessing real versus sham was 50%.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Medical University of South Carolina

🇺🇸

Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Medical University of South Carolina
🇺🇸Charleston, South Carolina, United States

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