Brain scans reveal how placebo cream tricks pain
NCT ID NCT04653064
First seen Dec 17, 2025 · Last updated Jun 23, 2026 · Updated 30 times
Summary
This study uses brain scans to explore how a placebo cream (a fake pain-relief cream) changes the way people feel pain on different parts of their body. About 150 healthy adults will receive either a placebo cream or a control cream before mild heat pain is applied to their skin. Researchers aim to understand how the brain represents pain and whether a placebo can reduce it.
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This is a summary of
the original study
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Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.
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Contacts and locations
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Study contacts
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Contact
Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Dartmouth College
RECRUITINGHanover, New Hampshire, 03755, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
Active substance
Placebo cream (exfoliating skin scrub with verbal suggestion of pain relief)
What this could lead to
If successful, this could improve understanding of how placebos reduce pain, potentially leading to better non-drug pain management strategies.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage study in healthy volunteers, not patients. The placebo effect is well-known but hard to translate into real-world treatments.
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.