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Detection of Electrodermal Activity in Pain 1

NCT06678217 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 37

Last updated 2026-03-19

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this study is to investigate the association between self-reported pain and electrodermal activity and to develop an algorithm that detects pain-related changes in electrodermal activity in healthy volunteers undergoing a cold pressor test. The study is exploratory.

The main research questions are:

Can pain be detected using electrodermal activity, and do psychological variables, including stress, affect the electrodermal response to pain?

Study Design:

The study has two arms.

Methodology:

Thirty-seven healthy volunteers perform an experimental pain task while their electrodermal activity is recorded and complete questionnaires. The participants are randomized 1:1 to either the cold pressor test alone or the cold pressor test combined with a mild experimental stressor (Stroop task).

Analysis:

Discriminant analysis will be used to differentiate between mild, moderate, and severe pain levels. Secondary outcomes include assessing the influence of the mild stressor on the pain response. This study is exploratory, generating hypotheses for subsequent phases of the project.

Conditions

  • Healthy
  • Acute Pain

Interventions

OTHER

Stroop task

The Stroop task will be used as a mild, acute stressor since it has effects on anxiety and autonomic response. In each Stroop task condition, four coloured visual stimuli will be presented on a computer screen for 3 s with 7 s inter-stimulus interval. The stimuli will be coloured words naming the colour of the ink in the nonconflict task condition (e.g. GREEN written in green ink) and a different colour in the conflict task condition (e.g. GREEN written in red ink). The participants were asked to name the colour of the stimuli. The test will be administered using the online version of PsyToolKit (Stoet, 2021).

OTHER

Cold pressor test

The participant lowers their hand in icy water to induce temporary tonic pain

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Aalborg University Hospital

    collaborator OTHER

  • Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Kirstine Skov Benthien, PhD · Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-11-10
Primary Completion
2026-12-01
Completion
2026-12-31

Countries

  • Denmark

Study Locations

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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 NCT06678217 on ClinicalTrials.gov