Vasopressin and Observational Analgesia in Healthy Volunteers

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This study explores how the hormone vasopressin might alter brain responses to pain when people watch others receive analgesia. It uses an interventional design with random assignment to vasopressin or saline, and a blinded setup for participants and researchers. The procedure includes an observational phase followed by a pain-testing phase in an fMRI environment to measure neural activity related to pain and social processing. The primary aim is to see if vasopressin enhances brain regions involved in social cognition during observational analgesia. The trial uses healthy adults aged 18–55 and excludes individuals with major health, psychiatric, or sensory risk factors.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age ( 18-55 years old)
* English speaker (written and spoken)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Cardiovascular, neurological diseases, pulmonary abnormalities, kidney disease, liver disease, degenerative neuromuscular disease, history of cancer within past 3 years
* Any history of chronic pain disorder or currently in pain
* Severe psychiatric condition (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, mania, autism) and /or psychiatric condition leading to treatment and/or hospitalization within the last 3 years.
* Family (first degree) history of mania, schizophrenia, or other psychoses
* Lifetime alcohol/drug dependence or alcohol/drug abuse in past 3 months
* Pregnancy or breast feeding
* Color-blindness
* Impaired, uncorrected hearing
* History of angioedema
* High blood pressure (above 140 mmHg) or symptomatic low blood pressure
* History of fainting
* Left handed
* Allergies or sensitivities to creams, lotions or food coloring
* Any non-organic implant or any non-removable metal device (e.g. pacemaker, cochlear implants, stents, surgical clips, non-removable piercings)
* Any prior eye injury or the potential of a foreign body in the eye (e.g. worked in metal fields)Persisting functional impairment due to a head trauma
* Fear of closed spaces
* Any other contraindications for MRI (e.g. large tattoos on head and neck)
* Previously participated in a "Pain Perception in the Brain" Study
* Failed drug test (testing for opiates, cocaine, methamphetamines, amphetamines and THC)

Where it's running

• Luana Colloca
  Baltimore, Maryland, United States Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Luana Colloca, MD/PHD/MS — University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing
• Study coordinator: Research Coordinator
• Email: nrscollocalab@umaryland.edu
• Phone: 410-706-5975

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.