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CompletedNCT05626582Updated Jul 12, 2024

Effects of Acute Pain vs Context Change on Motor Learning Retention in Young Adults

An interventional study of pain delivery - learning only and pain delivery - learning and retention in Pain, Acute and Motor Activity, sponsored by University of Delaware. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-07-12.

Sponsored by University of Delaware · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
61
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 35 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

To date, the effects of pain on motor learning have not been thoroughly investigated. When examining potential effects on retention of motor learning, it is important to dissociate any effects of pain from effects of a context change. The purpose of this research is to determine whether any altered retention of motor learning associated with acute pain is a true affect of pain or an affect of context (or both).

02

Conditions studied

  • Pain, Acute
  • Motor Activity

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Keywords

  • acute pain
  • young adults
  • pain
  • motor learning
  • motor consolidation
  • gait
  • locomotion
  • walking
  • generalization
03

In context

Acute Pain

876 studies on the registry are indexed under Acute Pain; 154 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 61 is below the median of 90 across 732 interventional studies indexed under Acute Pain.

Browse Acute Pain studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Delaware is the lead sponsor of 125 studies on the registry; 23 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 35 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Abbreviations: HR= heart rate, bpm= beats per minute; BP= blood pressure; ADD= attention deficit disorder; ADHD= attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; MoCA= Montreal Cognitive Assessment; GAD-7= Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 Scale; PHQ-2, PHQ-9= Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and -9.

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18-35 years old
  • Self-identifying as generally medically healthy
  • Able to read, write and speak English
  • Able to provide informed consent
  • Willing to undergo the experimental pain or non-painful electrical stimulation, if selected

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Resting HR \< 50 or > 100 bpm
  • Resting BP \< 90/60 or > 140/95 mmHg
  • Any history or current mental health condition, learning/developmental disability or cognitive impairment, including ADD/ADHD, severe anxiety, severe depression, autism spectrum disorder, insomnia, mild cognitive impairment, etc.
  • Score on the MoCA \<23
  • Score on the GAD-7 ≥ 10
  • Score on the PHQ-2 ≥ 2 and score on the PHQ-9 ≥ 10
  • Any current (within last 3 month) or chronic medical conditions, including any musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, endocrine, pulmonary, metabolic, psychiatric or neurological diagnosis
  • Any implanted electronic medical devices (i.e., cardiac pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators, spinal cord neurostimulators)
  • Any impaired sensation or weakness in either lower extremity or in the area targeted for the stimulus
  • History of serious concussion or head injury, defined as a loss of consciousness for > 5 minutes and/or requiring medical treatment, or > 2 concussions over the lifespan
  • Any history of acute or chronic problems with balance, any dizziness, or > 1 fall in the last 12 months
  • Taking 4 or more medications
  • Currently or regularly using any analgesic medications, over-the-counter remedies, or any other treatment for the purposes of pain relief (i.e., baby aspirin for heart health permitted, etc.)
  • Any current or chronic pain condition during the last year, located anywhere in the body
  • Allergy to capsaicin or hot peppers
  • Any skin lesion, breakage or irritation in the area targeted for the painful stimulus
  • Skin sensitivity to soaps/creams/perfumes or to heat
  • Poor circulation in the area targeted for the painful stimulus
  • Prior participation in a locomotor learning study in this lab within the last 2 years
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
61 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Pain Stimulus - Learning Only

    Capsaicin combined with heat applied to intact skin

    Procedure: pain delivery - learning only

  • Experimental
    Pain Stimulus - Learning and Retention

    Capsaicin combined with heat applied to intact skin

    Procedure: pain delivery - learning and retention

  • No intervention
    No Stimulus

    Nothing applied to skin

Interventions

  • Procedurepain delivery - learning only

    Experimental pain paradigm delivered (capsaicin cream combined with heat) that is short-term and painful but not harmful. Applied to skin just during the Day 1 learning period.

  • Procedurepain delivery - learning and retention

    Experimental pain paradigm delivered (capsaicin cream combined with heat) that is short-term and painful but not harmful. Applied to skin during the Day 1 learning period and again during the Day 2 retention period.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Motor Retention Magnitude

    degree to which the learned locomotor pattern has been remembered (in step length percent change, normalized to the amount learned from day 1)

    Time frame: 24 hours post learning (day 2)

  2. Motor Learning Magnitude

    degree to which the new locomotor pattern has been acquired (in step length percent change)

    Time frame: immediately after learning (day 1)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Delaware
    Newark, Delaware 19713, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 12, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05626582
Lead sponsor
University of Delaware
Collaborators
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Responsible party
Susanne M Morton (Associate Professor, University of Delaware) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 23, 2022
Start date
Apr 11, 2023
Primary completion
May 15, 2024
Completion
May 31, 2024
Last update
Jul 12, 2024

Study contacts

Susanne M Morton, PhD
principal investigator · University of Delaware

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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