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Context Interventions: Social Modeling and Initial Treatment Experience

NCT04646460 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 120

Last updated 2026-01-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

In this experiment, the investigators study the brain pathways underlying several promising context interventions that enhance the strength of placebo effects. Specifically, the investigators examine the separate and joint effects of two of the most powerful context interventions: Social modeling-observing someone else being effectively treated-and prior treatment success or failure experiences. Participants will be randomized into 4 groups (Social modeling: observed success vs. observed failure and Conditioning: experienced success vs. experienced failure). The objectives are to investigate the placebo effect on pain relief and aversive image stimuli between and within-subjects. Each group will undergo a behavioral induction phase, fMRI placebo test phase, and an identical 3-month follow up fMRI placebo test phase. Follow-up assessment will provide some of the first evidence on predictors of the durability of placebo and context interventions.

Conditions

  • Placebo Effect
  • Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Observed Success

The demonstrator in video gets a placebo treatment, "Levoderm" analgesic cream, which will be shown to be effective at relieving pain.

BEHAVIORAL

Observed Failure

The demonstrator in the video gets the same placebo treatment, but shows little to no effectiveness from the placebo for relieving pain.

BEHAVIORAL

Experienced Success

The participant will receive reduced stimulus intensities after the placebo cream treatment to reinforce the effectiveness of the cream.

BEHAVIORAL

Experienced Failure

The participant will not receive reduced stimulus intensities after the placebo treatment, so the cream is not reinforced as effective.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Trustees of Dartmouth College

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Tor D Wager, PhD · Dartmouth College

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
55 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-12-01
Primary Completion
2027-12-01
Completion
2028-12-01

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04646460 on ClinicalTrials.gov