Spatiotemporal Thalamocortical Alterations Underlie Experimental and Chronic Pain

NCT06968689 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2026-03-02

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess thalamocortical (TC) connectivity during tonic pressure pain, to evaluate alpha activity during tonic pressure pain and to determine pressure pain ratings by using Electroencephalography (EEG), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS), sham and Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS)

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)

Participants will get a personalized brain stimulation: a 2 milliampere (mA) oscillating current that matches their natural alpha brain wave frequency (8-12 Hz), determined by a quick 3-minute EEG before the session.

DEVICE

Sham

Active sham stimulation with 60- second -tACS will be applied , then ramp down, and be reintroduced in the last 30 seconds to minimize awareness of the experimental condition

DEVICE

transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS)

Participants will still get stimulation, but at random frequencies between 1 and 200 Hz (instead of targeted alpha waves).

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    collaborator NIH
  • The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Wen Li, PhD · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-06-01
Primary Completion
2027-12-31
Completion
2028-02-29
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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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 NCT06968689 on ClinicalTrials.gov