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The Power of Belief: Expectation-driven and Placebo Modulation of Empathic Pain (PoB-EP)
This study investigates how belief and expectation influence empathic pain-the pain we feel when observing others in distress. Healthy adult participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: no-treatment control, placebo nasal spray, oxytocin-containing nasal spray. Participants in both the placebo and oxytocin conditions will be informed that they are receiving oxytocin, described as a potent agent for pain relief. During functional MRI scanning, all participants will view naturalistic pain-related videos and provide ratings of perceived subjective pain. The study aims to examine how cognitive beliefs and neuromodulatory interventions alter subjective pain experience and brain activity, including changes in brain network communication.
Details
| Lead sponsor | University of Electronic Science and Technology of China |
|---|---|
| Phase | NA |
| Status | RECRUITING |
| Enrolment | 120 |
| Start date | Mon Dec 01 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
| Completion | Mon Mar 30 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
Conditions
- Healthy Participants
Interventions
- Intranasal Oxytocin (OT) 24 IU
- Intranasal placebo administration
Countries
China