Can pain make you slower? scientists use iPad game to find out
NCT ID NCT03115788
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study looked at how short-term pain from heat or cold affects thinking and concentration. Twelve healthy adults played an iPad game before, during, and after experiencing mild pain. The goal was to see if pain changes how quickly and accurately people can perform simple tasks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- heat induced pain and cold induced pain
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help understand how pain impacts thinking and concentration, potentially guiding future treatments for pain-related cognitive issues.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early study with only 12 healthy volunteers, so results may not apply to real-world pain or people with medical conditions.
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
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12 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2016
- Finished
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Jul 2025
- Lead sponsor
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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
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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: * Healthy male and non-pregnant female volunteers between the ages of 18-55. Exclusion Criteria: * Any reported learning disabilities, psychomotor impairment including diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, seizures, debilitating neurologic disorders (muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, etc.), genetic diseases, heart disease, stroke, or memory deficits; anything that would impair the ability to hold the iPAD and perform the computer gaming tasks (i.e. blindness, color blindness, upper extremity dysfunction or pain). Also any history of cold induced impaired circulation, cold agglutinins or Raynaud's or insensitivity to cold.
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States
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