NCT03805854

Modulating Pain Using Transcranial Alternating Stimulation (tACS) in Healthy Human Subjects

Completed NA Last updated 4 June 2020

What this trial tests

NA trial testing 10 Hz tACS of the bilateral somatosensory cortex in Experimental Pain in Healthy Human Subjects in 39 participants. Completed in 23 October 2019.

Timeline

15 April 2019

Primary endpoint
23 October 2019

23 October 2019

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Technical University of Munich
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	na
Design	single group
Masking	none
Primary purpose	basic science
Enrollment	39
Start date	15 April 2019
Primary completion	23 October 2019
Estimated completion	23 October 2019
Sites	1 location across Germany

Drugs / interventions tested

• 10 Hz tACS of the bilateral somatosensory cortex
• 10 Hz tACS of the prefrontal cortex
• 80 Hz tACS of the bilateral somatosensory cortex
• 80 Hz tACS of the prefrontal cortex
• Sham stimulation of the bilateral somatosensory cortex
• Sham stimulation of the prefrontal cortex

Conditions studied

• Experimental Pain in Healthy Human Subjects — all drugs for Experimental Pain in Healthy Human Subjects →

Sponsor

Technical University of Munich

Who can join

Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Experimental Pain in Healthy Human Subjects. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Pain is a highly complex and subjective phenomenon which results from the dynamic integration of sensory and contextual (i.e. cognitive, emotional, and motivational) processes. Recent evidence suggests that neural oscillations and their synchronization between different brain areas might form the basis of these integrative functions. When investigating tonic experimental pain lasting for several minutes, for example, objective stimulus intensity is inversely related to alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) oscillations in early somatosensory areas, while subjective pain intensity is positively associated with gamma (30-100 Hz) oscillations in prefrontal cortex. Yet, with a few exemptions, reported links between oscillatory brain activity and pain have mostly been established by correlative approaches which do not allow to infer causality. The current project aims at comprehensively investigating the causal role of neural oscillations for tonic experimental pain in healthy human subjects. To this end, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) will be employed to modulate oscillatory brain activity in alpha and gamma frequency bands and investigate effects of this manipulation on pain perception and pain-related autonomic responses. Using an established tonic pain stimulation protocol and a double-blind, sham-controlled design, effects of tACS of somatosensory as well as prefrontal brain areas will be investigated. Results promise to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying tonic experimental pain by testing the mechanistic role of neural oscillations in different aspects of pain processing. Furthermore, they might contribute to the development of urgently needed new treatment approaches for chronic pain using neuromodulatory methods.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Modulating Brain Rhythms of Pain Using Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) - A Sham-Controlled Study in Healthy Human Participants.
   May ES, Hohn VD, Nickel MM, Tiemann L, et al · · 2021 · cited 16× · PMID 33845173 · DOI 10.1016/j.jpain.2021.03.150