Operant Conditioning of Sensory Brain Responses to Reduce Phantom Limb Pain in People With Limb Amputation
CompletedNot applicableNCT05880251
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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)
The study will investigate the application of a non-pharmacological operant conditioning approach to reduce phantom limb pain (PLP). PLP afflicts 60-90% people who have lost a limb. It can last for years and lead to drug dependence, job loss, and poor quality of life. Current non-pharmacological interventions are encouraging but limited, and their efficacy remains unclear. Limb amputation is known to lead to abnormal sensorimotor reorganization in the brain. Multiple studies have shown that PLP severity is correlated with the extent of this reorganization. The current study will train participants via realtime feedback of brain responses to promote more normal sensorimotor response, with the goal to reduce phantom limb pain.
Study details
- Official title
- Operant Conditioning of Sensory Evoked Potentials to Reduce Phantom Limb Pain
- Conditions
- Phantom Limb Pain After Amputation
- Lower Limb Amputation
- Upper Limb Amputation
- Phantom Pain
- Chronic Pain
- Interventions
- Behavioral: Operant Conditioning with Peripheral Stimulation
- Behavioral: Control Group with Peripheral Stimulation Only
- Sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Start date
- 2023-07-01
- Primary completion
- 2025-07-01
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- United States
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * An upper (or lower limb) amputation more than 6 months ago, that has produced a moderate to severe hand/arm (or foot/leg) phantom limb pain, * Male or female age 18 years or older, * Medical clearance to participate, * Reasonable expectation that ongoing medications, if any, will be maintained without change for at least 4 months from the start of the study, * Able to provide informed consent and to understand the study instructions, * Able to participate in the specific study procedures. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of other medically unstable and/or infectious condition (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes with recent weight loss, diabetic coma, frequent insulin reactions), * A cardiac condition (e.g., history of myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure), * Cognitive and/or attention difficulties affecting participant's ability to follow study directions, * Known skin disorders or damaged skin at the anticipated at the scalp for EEG recording (e.g., unhealed wounds, broken skin). * Metal implants above the chest
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05880251