Emotion and Memory in Chronic Neuropathic Pain (NCT06518421)
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
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.
Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (9 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (6 items).
Location: Toronto Western Hospital — Toronto, Ontario
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistCheck every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).
Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:
- 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
🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (1 Sites)
- Toronto Western Hospital — Toronto, Ontario
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.