Effect of Anticipated Pain on Corticospinal Excitability

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the anticipation of pain, in the absence of real pain, affects the excitability of the corticospinal pathway. Corticospinal excitability reflects how responsive the motor areas of the brain are when sending signals to muscles. In this study, healthy adult participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups will receive the application of an inert cream on the forearm. Participants in the experimental group will be told that the cream may cause pain, while participants in the control group will be informed that the cream is completely inactive. In reality, the cream has no physical effect in either group. This design allows the researchers to isolate the effect of pain anticipation (a nocebo effect) without exposing participants to actual pain. Corticospinal excitability will be measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive technique that stimulates the motor cortex to assess brain-to-muscle communication. Measurements will be taken before and after the application of the cream. In addition, psychological factors related to catastrophizing and fear of movement will be assessed using validated questionnaires, and physiological responses associated with stress will be measured through heart rate variability. The main question this study aims to answer is whether anticipating pain, even without experiencing real pain, alters corticospinal excitability, and whether this effect is influenced by fear of movement and catastrophizing. By improving our understanding of how pain-related expectations affect brain function, this research may contribute to better strategies for preventing maladaptive motor changes associated with chronic pain.

NCT Number	NCT07407595
Lead Sponsor	Universite du Littoral Cote d'Opale
Conditions	Nocebo Effect, Kinesiophobia
Enrollment	44 participants
Start Date	2026-02-12
Primary Completion	2026-07 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-07 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-02-13