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Behavioral Intervention

Placebo Effects in Healthy Individuals

N/A
Waitlist Available
Led By Tor D Wager, PhD
Research Sponsored by Trustees of Dartmouth College
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
Be between 18 and 65 years old
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. averaged and compared across interventions.
Awards & highlights

Study Summary

This trial looks at how well people respond to placebos that are matched to their personality.

Who is the study for?
This trial is for healthy individuals who have a dominant motivational style of either 'promotion' or 'prevention', determined by screening. People with chronic pain or those who can't handle heat pain on their forearm are not eligible.Check my eligibility
What is being tested?
The study tests placebo creams with suggestions that either match ('promotion') or mismatch ('prevention') participants' motivation styles, against a control cream without any suggestion to see how they affect the perception of pain.See study design
What are the potential side effects?
Since the interventions involve placebo creams and psychological suggestions rather than active medical substances, no direct side effects are expected from the treatments themselves.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. averaged and compared across interventions.
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and immediate response measured during painful stimulation on the day of participation. averaged and compared across interventions. for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Outcome measures can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary outcome measures
Changes in subjective ratings of acute thermal pain
Changes in subjective ratings of pain expectations
Secondary outcome measures
Changes in heart rate measured with a Biopac device
Changes in skin conductance response measured with a Biopac device
Facial expressions
+1 more

Trial Design

2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: PlaceboExperimental Treatment2 Interventions
All participants will participate in two sessions, one with a placebo suggestion that matches the participant's motivational style, and one with placebo suggestion that does not match their motivational style, in a pseudo-random order.
Group II: ControlExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Each session will also include a control phase, in which the same cream will be applied, and participants will be instructed that the cream has no analgesic effects.
Treatment
First Studied
Drug Approval Stage
How many patients have taken this drug
Control cream
2016
N/A
~110

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

Trustees of Dartmouth CollegeLead Sponsor
23 Previous Clinical Trials
10,625 Total Patients Enrolled
Tor D Wager, PhDPrincipal InvestigatorDartmouth College
5 Previous Clinical Trials
473 Total Patients Enrolled

Media Library

Control cream (Behavioral Intervention) Clinical Trial Eligibility Overview. Trial Name: NCT04669093 — N/A
Healthy Subjects Research Study Groups: Placebo, Control
Healthy Subjects Clinical Trial 2023: Control cream Highlights & Side Effects. Trial Name: NCT04669093 — N/A
Control cream (Behavioral Intervention) 2023 Treatment Timeline for Medical Study. Trial Name: NCT04669093 — N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions and answers are submitted by anonymous patients, and have not been verified by our internal team.

Is enrollment for this research project still ongoing?

"According to clinicaltrials.gov, this specific medical trial is no longer open for recruitment as of October 24th 2022. The initial posting date was September 30th 2023. However, the website currently lists 839 other studies that are actively looking for participants."

Answered by AI

Does this research involve participants who are more than 35 years old?

"This trial has an age requirement of over 18 years old and under 55."

Answered by AI

Is my profile suitable to partake in this exploration?

"This research project needs 60 subjects aged 18 to 55 that can be classed as either possessing a dominant promotion focus or a dominant prevention focus (determined via screening) and also fit the criteria for healthy participants."

Answered by AI

What results are expected to be achieved by this medical research?

"The primary purpose of this trial, which will be measured using thermal stimuli and subjective ratings on the day of participation before averaging and comparing across interventions is to assess variations in acute pain. Secondary objectives include analyzing facial expressions through a video camera with Facial Action Units (facial expression related to pain), measuring changes in heart rate via Biopac device, as well as evaluating skin conductance response also recorded by a Biopac device."

Answered by AI

Who else is applying?

What state do they live in?
New Hampshire
How old are they?
18 - 65
What site did they apply to?
Dartmouth College
What portion of applicants met pre-screening criteria?
Met criteria
How many prior treatments have patients received?
0
Recent research and studies
clinicaltrials.govStudy
Individual Differences in Placebo Analgesic Effects
Tor Wager 2024. "Individual Differences in Placebo Analgesic Effects". ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04669093.
~40 spots leftby Dec 2025
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