Exploring Pain Modulation with TMS and Repeated Pain Conditioning in Healthy Individuals
This study is looking at how the brain processes and controls pain in healthy adults. Researchers are using two methods: Conditioned Pain Modulation (CPM), which involves applying a mild pain stimulus to one area of the body to see how it affects pain perception in another, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive way to stimulate brain cells. The goal is to understand if engaging these pain control mechanisms can change how pain is processed. You might be able to join if you are a pain-free adult between 18 and 75 years old. The study will measure how well CPM works, how TMS affects the brain, and your sensory responses (Quantitative Sensory Testing) after two weeks. The current recruitment status is unclear.
- Study design
- This interventional study plans to enroll 75 healthy adults. It is not specified if the study is randomized or blinded.
- What's involved
- Participants will receive a pressure stimulus on their foot and immerse their non-dominant hand in a conditioning stimulus. The study will measure Conditioned Pain Modulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and Quantitative Sensory Testing.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- The primary endpoints, including Conditioned Pain Modulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and Quantitative Sensory Testing, are measured at two weeks.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Exploring Pain Modulation With TMS and Repeated Pain Conditioning in Healthy Individuals
At a glance
Conditions
NCT06726018
Where you'd take part
This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.
Department of Physical Therapy and Movement Science, University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texasno site contact published
Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.
Who to contact
This trial hasn't published a contact. View it on ClinicalTrials.gov
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Conditioned Pain Modulation as an assessmentTwo-weeks
Participants will receive a testing stimulus of pressure applied per ascending intensity at the web space of the foot until the pain reaches 40 out of 100, then discontinued. After testing the stimulus, Participants will receive a conditioning stimulus contact heat stimulus applied to the thenar of the left hand for 60 s at an intensity of 46.5 ◦C. Subjects will be asked to rate the heat pain during the four 60-second trials. Subjects will be instructed that they may remove their hand at any time if the heat is intolerable. After 60 seconds, the contact heat will be completely removed, and the testing stimulus will be re-applied to the web space of the dominant foot. Conditioned pain modulation will be calculated as the average pain ratings of the second testing stimulus series minus the average pain ratings of the first testing stimulus series. Negative numbers indicate efficient pain modulation
- Transcranial Magnetic StimulationTwo-weeks
Individuals meeting the TMS safety criteria will undergo baseline TMS to determine the resting motor threshold, short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) protocols. Both are established, reliable, valid protocols to measure motor cortical excitability and inhibition, respectively. TMS will be delivered using a D702 coil connected to Magstim 2002 magnetic stimulators via a Bistim unit (Magstim, UK). A resting motor threshold, defined as the stimulus intensity required to elicit a 50uV motor evoked potential in 5 out of ten TMS stimuli at the motor hotspot for dominant abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle will be determined with the participant seated, both shoulders in neutral, forearm supinated, and palms resting on a pillow in their lap. Twenty pulses of 1mV peak to peak motor evoked potentials will be recorded to assess cortical excitability. SICI will be investigated by applying a subthreshold conditioning stimulus before the test stimulus using a 1ms (SICI1ms) or a 3ms (SICI
- Quantitative Sensory TestingTwo-weeks
Slow Ramp Protocol: A computer-controlled TSAII NeuroSensory Analyzer (Medoc, Inc.) will deliver a thermal stimulus to the dominant forearm, starting at 35°C and increasing to 51°C in 1°C increments, each lasting 1 seconds. Participants will report when the sensation changes from warmth to pain (pain threshold) and when it becomes intolerable (pain tolerance). The procedure will be repeated twice with a pseudorandom interval (1 sec/min), and average thresholds and tolerances will be analyzed. Post-Stimulus Ratings: Participants will rate pain every 10 seconds for 60 seconds after the thermode is removed. These ratings primarily reflect C-fiber-mediated responses. Pressure Pain Threshold: Using an algometer with a 1 cm rubber tip, pressure will be applied at 1 kg/s to the first dorsal interosseous muscle of the dominant hand. Participants will report when the sensation changes from pressure to pain (pain threshold). The procedure will be repeated twice. Average will be calculated.