Mechanisms of Mindfulness Meditation and Self-Hypnosis for Pain in Older Adults With Chronic Pain (NCT06957743)
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
The goal of this study is to better understand how two common psychological treatments for pain work in the brain of older adults living with chronic pain. This study will: 1. evaluate fMRI of adults receiving psychological treatments for chronic pain to determine how these interventions work within older adults, and 2. examine self-report and EEG variables to identify for whom do these psychological interventions work. Adults ages 60 years and older, living with chronic pain for at least 3 months will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1. Mindfulness-Meditation 2. Therapeutic Hypnosis 3. Story Listening
Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (13 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (15 items).
Location: University of Washington — Seattle, Washington
📋 "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:
- have a history of a medical condition that could produce an abnormal EEG (e.g., epilepsy, history of traumatic brain injury);
- have an EEG confounder (e.g., congenital or acquired skull defects, missing sections or holes in the skull, or plates, screws, or other implants within the skull or brain) that would interfere with reliable EEG data collection;
- have metals in the body (e.g., pacemakers and/or cochlear implant) that are not allowed by IBIC MRI technicians;
- self-report claustrophobia or other contraindications to MRI scanning;
- have uncontrolled hypertension;
- have a primary chronic pain condition of headache;
- have chronic pain due to malignancy (e.g., cancer) or a chronic pain condition for which surgery is recommended and/or planned;
- alcohol abuse (operationalized as scoring ≥5 (male) or ≥4 (female) and responds that they have three or more standard drinks on a typical day or they have six or more drinks on one occasion less than monthly or greater on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise (AUDIT-C), or any substance (drug) abuse, all of which may impact EEG measures.
- severe cognitive impairment defined as ≥2 errors on the 6-Item Cognitive Impairment test or show signs of cognitive impairment on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA, using demographically-adjusted normative cut-offs that take into account race, ethnicity, age, and educational attainment);
- currently receiving other psychosocial treatments for any pain condition (as this may influence these treatment results);
- self-report previous participation in an experimental pain study;
🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (1 Sites)
- University of Washington — Seattle, Washington
💰 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.