Clinical trial NCT04189965: Traumatic Long-term Memory of Pain in Humans
Official title: Traumatic Long-term Memory of Pain - Pain Conditioning Study in Humans
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Pain
Traumatic Memory
Keywords: Pain
Traumatic Long-term Memory
Lead sponsor: Hospices Civils de Lyon
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-12-09
Enrollment: 180
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 50
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: Few studies have focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying pain memory in humans. Thus, this project aims to investigate the link between pain memorisation and memorisation of the associated context by addressing the issue of pain conditioning. The study is composed of two successive parts: one pilot then one experimental. The goal is to understand pain memorisation processes by analysing the parallel between pain memorisation and memorisation of a traumatic event. By using immersive virtual reality, investigators aim to show that contextual pain conditioning is associated with : 1- a specific neural networks; 2- a reactivation of vegetative and behavioural reactions related to pain as well as electro-physiological markers when re-exposure to the specific pain-conditioning-context; 3- an implicit hypermnesia of the pain-associated context and a struggle to extinguish conditioning; 4- a favoured elaboration of false memories of the contextual pain. The emitted hypothesis suggests that a cortical and behavioural mnemonic trace is created during encoding of pain in association with its context, and that the latter can reactivate although the pain itself has disappeared. This implicit cortical mnemonic trace, evoked by the simple pain-associated context, could explain the notion of pain print persisting at long-term in patients suffering from chronic pain.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Healthy subject
* Subject between 18 and 50 years old
* Subjects having given their written consent
* Subjects with health insurance

Exclusion Criteria:

* Prior addiction to drugs
* Prior neurological issues
* Chronic pain (neuropathic or non-neuropathic)
* Pregnant/breast-feeding women
* Absence of efficient contraception method for the duration of the study (1 month) for participants of procreation age (no inclusion limitation for male participants of procreation age)
* Subjects under chronic analgesic treatment or having taken an analgesic treatment in the 24 h preceding the experiment
* Heart issues
* Subjects under justice surveillance
* Subjects participating in another study which inclusion period overlaps with the one from this study

Primary outcomes:
measure: Measurement of electrophysiological (EEG) changes during a pain conditioning set up and its extinction
timeFrame: day 1
measure: Measurement of vegetative (electrodermal, electrocardiac) changes during a pain conditioning set up and its extinction
timeFrame: day 1
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Assessment of short-term memory of an environment according to whether it is associated with a painful stimulation or not
timeFrame: day 2
measure: Assessment of long-term memory of an environment according to whether it is associated with a painful stimulation or not
timeFrame: day 30
measure: Assessment subject capacity to create false memory of environment according to the associated stimulation (pain or no pain)
timeFrame: day 2
measure: Assessment subject capacity to create false memory of environment according to the associated stimulation (pain or no pain)
timeFrame: day 30
measure: Eye-tracking measurements, to assess the exploration of different contexts according to their nature
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Assessment of the total duration needed for total extinction
timeFrame: 30 minutes
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Bron
country: France
facility: Hôpital Neurologique,
Study officials:
References: