The Role of Learning in Nocebo Hyperalgesia
CompletedNot applicableNCT03793790
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Nocebo effects are adverse effects induced by patients' expectations. Nocebo effects on pain may underlie several clinical conditions, such as chronic pain. These effects can be learned via classical conditioning mechanisms. In the lab, nocebo effects are commonly studied via conditioning with continuous reinforcement (CRF) during which 100 percent of unconditioned pain stimuli are paired to conditioned stimuli (i.e., the activation of a mock medical device). Partial reinforcement (PRF) provides a more uncertain pairing during conditioning, where less than 100 percent of unconditioned pain stimuli are paired to conditioned stimuli. This method provides a potentially more clinically relevant learning platform to study how nocebo effects on pain are induced. In this study, the efficacy of conditioning with PRF, CRF, and sham-conditioning in inducing nocebo effects on pain will be compared. Furthermore, a counterconditioning method will be compared to an extinction method for the attenuation of nocebo effects on pain. Given the relevance of nocebo effects for patients, it is important to ascertain effective \& clinically relevant methods to understand how nocebo effects may be formed and attenuated. This study is conducted by Leiden University.
Study details
- Official title
- Learning Mechanisms in Nocebo Hyperalgesia: the Role of Conditioning and Extinction Processes
- Conditions
- Nocebo Effects
- Hyperalgesia
- Chronic Pain
- Pain Syndrome
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Conditioning with partial reinforcement
- Behavioral: Conditioning with continuous reinforcement
- Behavioral: Counterconditioning
- Behavioral: Extinction
- Behavioral: Sham Conditioning
- Sponsor
- Leiden University Medical Center
- Collaborators
- Universiteit Leiden
- Start date
- 2018-09-20
- Primary completion
- 2019-04-30
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 35 Years
- Healthy volunteers
- true
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Netherlands
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 18 - 35 years * Good understanding of the Dutch language Exclusion Criteria: * Severe or chronic physical morbidity (e.g., heart and lung diseases, diabetes) * Psychiatric disorders (DSM diagnosis; e.g., depression, autism) * Chronic pain complaints (≥ 6 months) at present or in the past * Current pain * Current use of analgesic medication * Pregnancy * After inclusion, participants who do not reach a sensation of high pain with the highest temperature administered or participants who appear unable to distinguish between moderate and high pain stimuli will also be excluded
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03793790