Placebo power: personalized suggestions may ease pain
NCT ID NCT04669093
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether placebo suggestions work better when they match a person's natural motivational style—either focusing on promoting good feelings or preventing pain. Sixty healthy adults will receive a plain hand cream but be told it's a pain reliever, with suggestions tailored to their style. Researchers will measure pain ratings, expectations, and facial expressions to see if the match makes a difference.
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 (hand cream) with behavioral suggestions
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward more effective, personalized ways to use placebos for pain relief.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study in healthy volunteers, not patients. The results may not apply to real-world pain 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
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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 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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 participants * Dominant promotion focus or dominant prevention focus (based on our screening) Exclusion Criteria: * Currently or recently suffered from chronic pain (based on screening) * Cannot tolerate heat pain applied to the forearm, based on a calibration task at the beginning of the experiment
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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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Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, United States
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