Investigating Motor Cortex Processing for Pain Modulation

Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of different types of interventions (motor learning, somatosensory learning, observation task, mental imagery and tDCS) on the perception of pain and motor cortex excitability in healthy male subjects. This is an exploratory study of healthy subjects only.

Conditions

• Motor Activity

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Motor Learning

Subject will have to draw a set of shapes and words during 20 minutes.

BEHAVIORAL

Somatosensory Learning

Subjects will perform a learning task involving sensory activation of the hand. The task will consist of learning letters of Braille.

BEHAVIORAL

Observational Task

Subjects will watch a 10 second video of a right-handed person performing movements of their left index finger. Subjects will be instructed to watch the video without any other specific instruction.

BEHAVIORAL

Mental Imagery

Subjects will be asked to perform mental imagery of motor practice - finger movements of the left hand for 10 minutes.

DEVICE

transcranial direct current stimulation

Subjects will undergo active and sham tDCS stimulation in a randomized and counterbalanced order. During both active and sham stimulation, we will use electrodes of 35cm\^2, intensity of 2mA for a duration of 20 minutes. The anode electrode will be placed over the right primary motor cortex (M1) and the cathode will be placed over the contralateral supraorbital area. For active stimulation, the current will be on for the duration of 20 minutes. For sham stimulation, the current will ramp up, and then down again for 30 seconds to simulate the sensation of active tDCS.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Felipe Fregni, MD, PhD, MPH · Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital (SRH)

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-09-30

Primary Completion

2014-04-30

Completion

2014-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations