Completed

Imaging Neural Mechanisms Underlying Pain Modulation

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What is being tested

Data Collection

Who is being recruted

See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Phase 2
Interventional
Study Start: February 2004
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorNational Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: February 1, 2004

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

Functional neuroimaging provides a powerful tool for understanding how the brain may be involved in the perception of pain. It has made it possible to identify areas of the brain that are involved in the perception of experimental pain but very few studies have evaluated the sites in the brain that are activated during clinical pain and the effects of analgesic drugs. The proposed study will use the surgical removal of an impacted third molar as a model of acute clinical pain to identify sites that are activated following the offset of local anesthesia and to examine the effects of the NSAID analgesic ketorolac on attenuating sites that are activated as pain is relieved. Scans will be performed under non-pain baseline conditions, and again immediately following surgery as the local anesthetic wears off, clinical pain occurs, and following administration of the NSAID ketorolac. Differences among subjects in the amount of pain reported and brain activation will be compared to subjects' prior ratings of experimental pain and the presence of any genetic polymorphisms that are related to pain perception, inflammation, known pain pathways, or psychological factors related to pain. The findings from this research may help to reveal how pain is appreciated in the central nervous system, pharmacologically modified by NSAID analgesics and differs among individuals due to genetic factors.

Official TitleImaging Neural Mechanisms Underlying Pain Modulation 
NCT00078364
Principal SponsorNational Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Last updated: January 14, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

30 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Treatment Study

These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Criteria

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Subjects will be a convenience sample selected from the pool of 500 - 700 new patients screened annually for acute pain studies. Inclusion and Exclusion criteria will be applied to result in a homogeneous population of subjects with respect to the surgical difficulty of the tooth being extracted, a single lower right third molar.

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Suspended

National Institute of Dental And Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

Bethesda, United StatesSee the location
CompletedOne Study Center