Spatiotemporal Thalamocortical Alterations Underlie Experimental and Chronic Pain

Running, not enrolling

Conditions studied: Experimental Pain, Low Back Pain

In brief

This study aims to identify spatiotemporal alterations in thalamocortical circuitry functioning in both healthy subjects and patients with chronic pain, combining multimodal neuroimaging.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05763758

Run by

Massachusetts General Hospital

People needed

200

Starts

2023-11-21

Expected to finish

2027-01-31

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-17

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 60. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• healthy male and female adults
• Between the ages of 18 and 60 years
• Meeting the MRI / MEG / EEG screening criteria
• Fluent in English; English can be a second language provided that the patients understand all questions used in the assessment measures. This will be asked and judged during the phone screen.

You may not qualify if…

• Current or past history of major medical, neurological, or psychiatric illness based on self-report
• History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that, in the investigator's judgment, precludes participation in the study because of a heightened potential for adverse outcome (for example: asthma or claustrophobia)
• History of head trauma
• Pregnant or lactating
• Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning (for example: cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, claustrophobia, pregnancy, cannot lie still in fMRI scanner)
• Conditions making study participation difficult (e.g., paralysis, psychoses, or other severe psychological problems as per the judgment of a study investigator during Session 1)
• Active substance abuse disorders (based on subject self-report)
• Subjects with chronic low back pain (MGH site)
• Inclusion Criteria:
• Volunteers 18-60 years of age
• Meet the Classification Criteria of the chronic LBP (having low back pain for more than 6 months)
• At least 4/10 clinical pain on the 0-10 LBP NRS
• Meeting the MRI / MEG / EEG screening criteria
• Fluent in English; English can be a second language provided that the patients understand all questions used in the assessment measures. This will be asked and judged during the phone screen.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• Specific causes of back pain (eg, cancer, fractures, spinal stenosis, infections)
• Complicated back problems (eg, prior back surgery, medicolegal issues)
• The intent to undergo surgery during the time of involvement in the study
• Current or past history of major medical, neurological, or psychiatric illness based on self-report
• History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that, in the investigator's judgment, precludes participation in the study because of a heightened potential for adverse outcome (for example: asthma or claustrophobia)
• History of head trauma
• Pregnant or lactating
• Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning (for example: cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, claustrophobia, pregnancy, cannot lie still in fMRI scanner)
• Conditions making study participation difficult (e.g., paralysis, psychoses, or other severe psychological problems as per the judgment of a study investigator during Session 1)
• Active substance abuse disorders (based on subject self-report)

Where it is running

• Florida State University — Tallahassee, Florida, United States
• Massachusetts General Hospital — Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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