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The Role of the Opioid System in Placebo Effects on Pain and Social Rejection

NCT04650841 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: EARLY_PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2025-12-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The current study probes the involvement of the opioid system in placebo effects on social pain, using the opioid antagonist naloxone. 60 participants who recently experienced an unwanted breakup will experience rejection-related stimuli and receive painful heat and pressure stimuli during fMRI scanning. Participants will be randomized to receive either a naloxone or saline nasal spray, and be informed that the spray is either saline, or an effective pain and negative emotion reducing agent.

Conditions

  • Pain
  • Rejection
  • Placebo Effect

Interventions

DRUG

Placebo Cream with Naloxone

Participants will be informed that the spray is an effective pain and negative emotion reducing agent.

DRUG

Control Cream with Naloxone

Participants will be informed that the spray is saline.

DRUG

Placebo Cream with Saline

Participants will be informed that the spray is an effective pain and negative emotion reducing agent.

DRUG

Control Cream with Saline

Participants will be informed that the spray is saline.

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
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-09-01
Primary Completion
2027-03-01
Completion
2027-03-01
FDA Drug
Yes

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 NCT04650841 on ClinicalTrials.gov