NCT06518421 Emotion and Memory in Chronic Neuropathic Pain
| NCT ID | NCT06518421 |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Phase | — |
| Sponsor | University Health Network, Toronto |
| Condition | Trigeminal Neuralgia |
| Study Type | OBSERVATIONAL |
| Enrollment | 400 participants |
| Start Date | 2024-02-12 |
| Primary Completion | 2027-02-12 |
Trial Parameters
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Brief Summary
Chronic pain affects one in four Canadians, leading to severe personal and societal costs. Over 70% of chronic pain patients report memory difficulties and fear having unexpected pain. Abnormalities in brain structures associated with emotion and memory, including the hippocampus and amygdala, can be affected by chronic pain. Understanding the relationship between chronic pain, structural brain changes, and cognitive functioning will lead to improved diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes in chronic pain disorders. In this project, the investigators will use advanced brain imaging techniques that assess the structure and function of the brain along with cognitive assessments to examine the overlap between chronic pain and emotion-memory processes. The study team will conduct the study using an excellent model of chronic pain-trigeminal neuralgia, a severe form of facial pain that responds well to surgical treatment. Brain images and cognitive data will be collected from participants before and after surgical treatment for pain. This information will be analyzed and compared with age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. This study will be the first to thoroughly investigate relationships between brain structure and function, cognition (memory, emotion), and promises to impact our understanding of chronic neuropathic pain conditions.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria (for HC and TN): * Age between 35 and 60 years old * Absence of other active major neurological or psychiatric disorders * Absence of MRI contraindications * Able to communicate sufficiently to complete tasks and questionnaires * Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score greater than 23/30 (MoCA ≤23/30 could indicate severe cognitive impairment) Inclusion Criteria for TN: * Experiencing TN pain over a period of 6 months * Stable medication use * Meet established diagnostic criteria for TN (ICHD-3) Exclusion Criteria (both HC and TN): * Presence of other chronic pain/headache conditions * Untreated hypertension or diabetes mellitus * History of chronic drug or substance use disorder, chronic use of opioids or steroids, head trauma affecting cognitive performance, * History/presence of active psychiatric illness and/or current use of psychoactive medication * History of multiple sclerosis, skull base injury or tumours