Green light may be a new painkiller – but how?
NCT ID NCT05295225
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests whether green light can reduce pain by looking at brain activity in 30 healthy adults. Participants are exposed to green or white light for two hours while researchers measure pain pathways and brain waves. The goal is to understand how green light works, not to treat pain directly.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Green Light Emitting Diode (GLED) device
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help explain how green light reduces pain, potentially leading to new non-drug pain relief methods.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, small study in healthy people without chronic pain, so results may not apply to patients. It only looks at brain activity, not actual pain relief.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2022
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 50 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. 18-50 years healthy men or women 2. Able to speak and understand English 3. No history of Chronic pain 4. No known neuropathies in areas that testing will take place, (forearms, muscle at the base of thumb on the palm of the hand and upper back/shoulder area. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Serious mental illness defined as distortions of perception, delusions, hallucinations, and unusual behaviors resulting in loss of contact with reality. This will be assessed during the screening interview. 2. Colorblindness or uncorrected cataracts. 3. Tissue damage in areas that testing will take place, (forearms, muscle at the base of the thumb on the palm of the hand, and upper back/should area.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Banner University Medical Center Tucson
Tucson, Arizona, 85724, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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