Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Pain Perception

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Pain

Interventions: Device: cathodal tDCS
Device: anodal tDCS
Device: sham tDCS

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

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
cathodal tDCS plus pain-education	cathodal tDCS	Participants were provided pain education during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode attached to the right shoulder and the cathode electrode was placed over the left DLPFC. Pain Education information included Pain Physiology, info on the Gate Theory of Pain, and Central Pain Processing.
anodal tDCS plus BCI	anodal tDCS	Participants underwent Brief Cognitive intervention (BCI) during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode placed over the left DLPFC and the cathode electrode attached to the right shoulder (Brand Phoresor-II Auto) . BCI entails listening to a 3-minute audio recording designed to mimic key components of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain.
cathodal tDCS plus BCI	cathodal tDCS	Participants underwent Brief Cognitive intervention (BCI) during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode attached to the right shoulder and the cathode electrode placed over the left DLPFC. BCI entails listening to a 3-minute audio recording designed to mimic key components of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain.
anodal tDCS plus pain-education	anodal tDCS	Participants were provided pain education during a single 20-minute session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with the anode electrode placed over the left DLPFC and the cathode electrode attached to the right shoulder. Pain Education information included Pain Physiology, info on the Gate Theory of Pain, and Central Pain Processing.
sham tDCS plus BCI	sham tDCS	Participants underwent Brief Cognitive intervention (BCI) during 20 minutes of sham tDCS. For sham, 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.
sham tDCS plus pain-education	sham tDCS	Participants were provided pain education during 20 minutes of sham tDCS. For sham, 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. Pain Education information included Pain Physiology, info on the Gate Theory of Pain, and Central Pain Processing.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Post-Intervention Pain Tolerance	Duration 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 Tolerance	Duration 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

Name	Time	Method
Percentage of Participants That Correctly Guessed Condition Assignment	2 hours	Participants guessed whether they received real tDCS or Sham tDCS. The base-rate for correctly guessing real versus sham was 50%.