Not yet recruiting NCT04669093
Individual Differences in Placebo Analgesic Effects
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Placebo cream- "promotion" suggestion, Placebo cream- "prevention" suggestion, Control cream.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Healthy. Basic parameters: 18 years — 55 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Person by Situation Interaction: Matching Suggestions to Participants' Motivational Styles
Overview
This study examines the effects of placebo suggestions tailored to match or mismatch individual participants' motivational styles-an issue of person-situation 'fit' with important effects in public health settings, but which has been ignored in past research.
Interventions
- Behavioral Placebo cream- "promotion" suggestion
Over-the-counter hand cream will be applied to participants' skin, but they will be told that they are given a highly efficient topical analgesic cream. The suggestion will be based on a "promotion" approach (promoting good feelings). - Behavioral Placebo cream- "prevention" suggestion
Over-the-counter hand cream will be applied to participants' skin, but they will be told that they are given a highly efficient topical analgesic cream. The suggestion will be based on a "prevention" approach (preventing pain). - Behavioral Control cream
In a control condition, with the same cream as in the placebo interventions, participants will be instructed that the cream is a control cream with no effects.
Primary outcome measures
- Changes in subjective ratings of acute thermal pain [Time frame: Measured repeatedly, immediately after thermal stimuli on the day of participation. Averaged and compared across interventions.]
- Changes in subjective ratings of pain expectations [Time frame: Measured repeatedly, immediately before thermal stimuli on the day of participation. Averaged and compared across interventions.]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
- Facial expressions [Time frame: Immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. Averaged and compared across interventions.]
- Thermal imaging of the face [Time frame: Immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. Averaged and compared across interventions.]
- Changes in skin conductance response measured with a Biopac device [Time frame: Immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. Averaged and compared across interventions.]
- Changes in heart rate measured with a Biopac device [Time frame: Immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. Averaged and compared across interventions.]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Healthy participants
- Dominant promotion focus or dominant prevention focus (based on our screening)
Exclusion criteria
- Currently or recently suffered from chronic pain (based on screening)
- Cannot tolerate heat pain applied to the forearm, based on a calibration task at the beginning of the experiment
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- Dartmouth College — Hanover
Identifiers
NCT: NCT04669093 · 230138