An interventional study of TSA2 Thermosensory Stimulator in Intellectual Disability, sponsored by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC). Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 8 Years to 30 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-23.
Sponsored by National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
Background:
People with intellectual disability (ID) often have physical disabilities as well. These physical problems can affect their bones, muscles, nerves, and gastrointestinal tracts. All of these issues can also cause pain. Yet little research has been done on pain in people with ID.
Objective:
To compare brain responses to unpleasant stimuli in people with and without ID.
Eligibility:
People aged 8 to 30 years diagnosed with an ID. Healthy volunteers without an ID are also needed.
Design:
The study requires only 1 visit of up to 4 hours. Participants with ID may come for up to 5 shorter visits instead.
Participants will take a test to measure their level of ID. They will have a physical exam.
Both groups will answer questions about pain and how their bodies react to it. They will answer questions about how they respond to things they see, feel, hear, smell, and taste. They will answer questions about their social behaviors. Caregivers may answer questions if the participant cannot.
Both groups will have a test to measure their brain activity. Participants will wear a special cap, like a swim cap, with sensors and wires. Sensors to examine the heart will be placed on the skin of their chest with stickers. An elastic band will be placed around the middle of their body to measure how fast they are breathing. Sensors to measure sweat will be placed on two fingers.
Participants will have heat, cold, brushing, and mild electrical stimuli to different parts of their body. Participants will rank how each stimulus feels using a scale with numbers or a scale with faces.
STUDY DESCRIPTION:
The study aims to evaluate the somatosensory response to innocuous and noxious stimuli in individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID) compared to healthy controls.
OBJECTIVES:
Primary Objective:
To characterize brain activation patterns using electroencephalography (EEG) and cerebral functional-near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in response to innocuous and noxious stimulation in individuals with ID (ages, 8-30 years), compared with the brain activation pattern observed in healthy controls.
We hypothesize that compared to healthy controls, individuals with ID will present decreases in oxygenated hemoglobin (measured by fNIRS) in pain responsive regions (e.g., secondary somatosensory cortex), in response to standardized noxious stimuli (heat, cold, and electrical). In addition, individuals with ID will also present smaller suppression of oscillation in alpha and beta frequencies (measured by EEG at central sites) in response to these stimuli.
Exploratory Objective:
To determine the relationship between brain activation patterns to innocuous and noxious stimuli with physiological and behavioral responses to the same stimuli, in individuals with ID. We hypothesize that decreased oxygenated hemoglobin in response to noxious stimuli in the secondary somatosensory cortex, as well as smaller suppression of oscillations in alpha and beta frequencies at central sites in individuals with ID will correlate with changes in heart rate, galvanic skin response and pupil dilation. In addition, we hypothesize that decreased oxygenated hemoglobin to noxious thermal and electrical stimuli in the secondary somatosensory cortex, as well as smaller suppression of oscillations in alpha and beta frequencies will also be associated with behavioral observations (e.g. vocal, social and changes in facial, body and extremities activity).
ENDPOINTS:
Primary Endpoints:
387 studies on the registry are indexed under Intellectual Disability; 105 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 215 is above the median of 58 across 248 interventional studies indexed under Intellectual Disability.
Browse Intellectual Disability studies →National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) is the lead sponsor of 375 studies on the registry; 27 are open to participants now.
Of its 23 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 19 (83%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
The criteria were revised on the registry on Oct 21, 2026. See what changed
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:
For All Participants
Healthy Adult Controls
Healthy Children
Patients
-Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
All participants
Healthy Children
-Children who have been diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders or treated in early intervention programs.
Patients
-Subjects who are on opioids, NSAID, gabapentin, or pregabalin chronically.
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ID Patients
Device: TSA2 Thermosensory Stimulator
Healthy controls
Device: TSA2 Thermosensory Stimulator
TSA thermal analyzer uses the thresholds for four sub-modalities to measure thermal sensory threshold. This device is capable of heating or cooling the skin as needed to detect heat and cold tolerance and to deliver thermal stimuli.
Provide quantitative measure of pain perception
a. fNIRS: oxygenated hemoglobin. b.EEG: Theta, alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations across the cortex as measured by EEG time-frequency analysis. c. Pain thresholds (electrical perception threshold; electric tolerance threshold) d. Correlation between brain signals (oxygenated hemoglobin; theta, alpha, beta and gamma oscillations) to pain with behavioral assessments of pain, general functioning and sensory processing
Time frame: End of study
Provides measure of pain among non-communicating individuals
a. NCCPC-R and other behavioral measurements of pain administered during QST; b. fNIRS: oxygenated hemoglobin. c. EEG:Theta, alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations across the cortex as measured by EEG time-frequency analysis.
Time frame: End of study
Started Mar 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2027, 18 months after the start.
Of 155 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Intellectual Disability, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 36. This study's planned 18 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 158 studies reached it within 19 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 36.
Since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026, the dates moved once, on Oct 21, 2026: primary completion Oct 2026 → Oct 2027 and completion Oct 2026 → Oct 2027.
Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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