Can we fix pain bias? new study investigates
NCT ID NCT03258580
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 09, 2026 · Updated 20 times
Summary
This study looks at how social factors like race and ethnicity influence how people express pain and how others assess it. Researchers will measure pain responses and brain activity in healthy volunteers, then test whether feedback can improve accuracy in judging others' pain. The goal is to understand and reduce health disparities in pain treatment.
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 work could help reduce biases in pain assessment and improve pain management for minority groups.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study with no treatment being tested. Results may not directly change clinical practice.
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 700 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2018
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
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 60 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: All Sub-Studies: * Healthy * Between 18 and 60 years old * Fluent in English * Able to provide written informed consent EXCLUSION CRITERIA: All Sub-Studies: * Unable to comply with study procedures * Has a major-medical condition or medical history that in a clinician's assessment could affect ability to comply with study procedures, including neurological conditions (including stroke, blindness or deafness, or a history of brain damage) * Has a current mood disorder, anxiety disorder, or substance use disorder, or has a history of psychosis, hospitalization for a mental health condition, or recurrent psychiatric episodes. * NIH staff member who is a subordinate/relative/co-worker of any investigator on the protocol * Prior completion of a different sub-study within this protocol. * Is born outside of the states or territories of the United States of America * Does not currently reside in a state or territory of the United States of America Sub-study 1: * Has a major-medical condition or medical history that in a clinician's assessment could affect heat sensitivity or pain thresholds. This may include cardiovascular, autonomic, or neurological conditions or a chronic systemic disease (e.g., diabetes) * Has a medical condition that in a clinician's assessment might affect somatosensation (e.g., Raynaud's disease, peripheral neuropathy, or circulatory disorder) * 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 affecting the testing region, such as scars, burns, or recent tattoos that might influence cutaneous sensibility * Regular use of prescription medication that has a significant effect on pain or heat perception. Excluded medications include central-acting agents such as opiates (morphine, tramadol), antidepressants (amitriptyline, duloxetine, milnacipran), anticonvulsants (gabapentin, pregabalin), anxiolytics (barbituates, 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 was not taken was within 5 half-lives of testing. * Is left handed Sub-study 4, FMRI participants: * Has a current chronic pain condition or has had chronic pain in the past (painful condition lasting more than six months) * Is left-handed * Any FMRI contraindications, including: * Ferromagnetic metal in the cranial cavity or eye, e.g. aneurysm clip, implanted neural stimulator, cochlear implant, ocular foreign body. * Implanted cardiac pacemaker or auto-defibrillator. * Insulin pump. * Irremovable body piercing. * Pregnant women (based on urine test completed within 24 hours prior to scan). * Those with an abnormality on a structural MRI that has functional consequences based on clinician assessment.
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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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