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The Power of Belief: Expectation-driven and Placebo Modulation of Empathic Pain

NCT07367672 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 120

Last updated 2026-01-26

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study investigates how belief and expectation influence empathic pain-the pain we feel when observing others in distress. Healthy adult participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: no-treatment control, placebo nasal spray, oxytocin-containing nasal spray. Participants in both the placebo and oxytocin conditions will be informed that they are receiving oxytocin, described as a potent agent for pain relief. During functional MRI scanning, all participants will view naturalistic pain-related videos and provide ratings of perceived subjective pain. The study aims to examine how cognitive beliefs and neuromodulatory interventions alter subjective pain experience and brain activity, including changes in brain network communication.

Conditions

  • Healthy Participants

Interventions

DRUG

Intranasal Oxytocin (OT) 24 IU

Administer oxytocin (24 IU) intranasally, 6 individual 0.1 ml puffs (4 IU/0. 1ml), three puffs per nostril one every 30 seconds. The participants will be informed that they are receiving oxytocin, described as a potent agent for pain relief.

DRUG

Intranasal placebo administration

Administer placebo intranasally, 6 individual 0.1 ml puffs, three puffs per nostril one every 30 seconds. The participants will be informed that they are receiving oxytocin, described as a potent agent for pain relief.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Siying Wang · University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-12-01
Primary Completion
2026-02-20
Completion
2026-03-30

Countries

  • China

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 NCT07367672 on ClinicalTrials.gov