Scientists probe how stress and pain shape your choices
NCT ID NCT05666726
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 5 times
Summary
This study looks at how negative emotions like stress, pain, and frustration change the way people make decisions. Healthy adults aged 18 to 55 will experience different emotional triggers—such as heat, cold, or math problems—and then perform computer tasks while their brain activity is measured. The goal is to understand the link between emotions, thinking, and behavior, which may help improve diagnosis and treatment for mental disorders.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this research could help scientists better understand how emotions affect choices, potentially guiding future treatments for mental health disorders.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study with no treatment being tested. Results may not directly apply to people with mental health conditions, and the findings are exploratory.
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
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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
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About 900 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2023
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 55 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.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: Subject selections will be equitable among those individuals who meet the inclusion criteria. Every effort will be made to balance sex and race. In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: * Ability of subject to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document. * All sexes; Age 18 to 55. * Able to read and write in English to guarantee understanding of all written and spoken instructions, which are in English. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: For all experiments: * Unable to comply with study procedures or follow-up visits * Has any serious or unstable medical condition or history that in a clinician s assessment implies a cardiovascular, neurological, or physical risk from the study procedures performed to induce negative valence states. This may include chronic systemic disorders that could worsen due to stress (e.g. uncontrolled hypertension, coronary artery disease for example a history of myocardial infarction or stable or unstable angina, or diabetes) * Has any current psychiatric diagnosis (based on SCID or the MINI Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) or no diagnosis but scores \>=29 on Beck Depression Inventory II or \>=26 on Beck Anxiety Inventory * Meets criteria for diagnosis of any substance-related or addictive disorder, or endorses any kind of problematic gambling behavior or problematic media-based addictive behavior (such as videogames, social-networking, online shopping, etc.) * Regular use of psychoactive medications or psychoactive substances * Regular use of corticosteroids * Is pregnant For stress and pain induction: * Has a major medical condition or medical history that in a clinician s assessment could affect temperature sensitivity, pain thresholds, or ability to comply with study procedures. This may include cardiovascular, autonomic, neurological, psychiatric, or chronic systemic disorders (including but not limited to stroke, blindness, deafness, history of brain damage, neurodegenerative, neurotoxic or demyelinating disorder, or diabetes) * Has a medical condition that in a clinician s assessment might affect somatosensation (e.g., Raynaud s disease, peripheral neuropathy, or circulatory disorder) For pain induction: * Has a current chronic pain condition or has had chronic pain in the past (painful condition lasting more than six months) * Has a dermatological condition such as scars or burns, or has had a tattoo in the testing region within the previous 4 weeks that might influence cutaneous sensibility * Regular and recent use of prescription or over-the-counter medication that has a significant effect on pain or heat perception. These include medications such as centralacting agents such as opiates (morphine, tramadol), antidepressants (amitriptyline, duloxetine, milnacipran), anticonvulsants (gabapentin, pregabalin), anxiolytics (barbiturates, benzodiazepines), hypnotics (zolpidem, sodium oxybate), antipsychotics (valproate, lithium, olanzapine), antimigraine agents (sumatriptan, ergotamine), and muscle relaxants (cyclobenzaprine, carisoprodol). Use of analgesic medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, salicylates, and acetaminophen, taken on an as needed basis is acceptable as long as the last dose taken was within 5 half-lives of testing. For craving induction: * Has a condition that in a clinician s assessment could preclude the ability to hold 4-6 hours of fasting or that is associated with a risk of hypoglycemia (such as diabetes, kidney disease, insulinoma, adrenal or pituitary tumors or disorders, or anorexia nervosa) * Is currently engaged in any kind of diet medically- or self-prescribed or endorses a very strong desire to start a diet that involves eliminating or decreasing carbohydrate consumption * Has a history of food allergies such as tree-nut or peanut allergy. For fMRI experiments: * Individuals with conditions that could pose a risk relating to the safety of the fMRI procedure but do not meet specific exclusion criteria for all experiments or for specific inductions will be excluded from the MRI portion of the protocol but may participate in the non-MRI sessions. Such conditions include: * Those with ferromagnetic metal in the cranial cavity or eye (e.g. aneurysm clip, implanted neural stimulator, cochlear implant, ocular foreign body) * Those with an abnormality on a structural MRI * Those with an implanted cardiac pacemaker or auto-defibrillator * Those with an insulin pump * Those with an irremovable body piercing * Pregnancy (based on urine test completed within 24 hours prior to scan) * Left-handed (only for fMRI experiments involving thermal pain stimulation)
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
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