Effects of Acute Pain on Motor Learning in Young vs Older Adults

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE · Jul 20, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how acute pain affects the ability to learn new movements, particularly in younger and older adults. Researchers believe that pain may make it harder for people to remember and retain what they’ve learned about movement. They are specifically looking at how this impact differs between young adults (ages 18-35) and older adults (ages 55-85), especially considering that cognitive decline, or a decrease in thinking skills, often comes with aging.

To join the study, participants must be generally healthy and able to speak, read, and write in English. Young adults must be matched with an older adult in terms of gender. Participants will experience either painful or non-painful electrical stimulation during the study. It’s important to know that there are several health conditions and medications that may prevent someone from being eligible. If you decide to participate, you can expect a safe environment where your learning abilities in relation to pain will be carefully assessed.

Gender

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Eligibility criteria

• • Abbreviations: YA= young adult; OA= older adult; HR= heart rate, bpm= beats per minute; BP= blood pressure; ADD= attention deficit disorder; ADHD= attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; MoCA= Montreal Cognitive Assessment; GAD-7= Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 Scale; PHQ-2, PHQ-9= Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and -9.
• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. 18-35 (YA group only) or 55-85 (OA group only) years old
• • 2. Sex-matched to a participant in the OA group (YA group only)
• • 3. Self-identifying as generally medically healthy
• • 4. Able to read, write and speak English
• • 5. Able to provide informed consent and attend all testing sessions
• • 6. Willing to undergo the experimental pain or non-painful electrical stimulation, if selected
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. Resting HR \< 50 or \> 100 bpm
• • 2. Resting BP \< 90/60 or \> 140/95 mmHg (YA group only) or \> 165/95 (OA group only)
• • 3. Any history or current mental health condition, learning/developmental disability or cognitive impairment, including severe untreated ADD/ADHD, severe untreated anxiety, severe untreated depression, autism spectrum disorder, insomnia, mild cognitive impairment, etc.
• • 4. Score on the MoCA \<23
• • 5. Score on the GAD-7 ≥ 10
• • 6. Score on the PHQ-2 ≥ 2 and score on the PHQ-9 ≥ 10
• • 7. Any current (within last 3 month) or chronic medical conditions, including any musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, endocrine, pulmonary, metabolic, psychiatric or neurological diagnosis that (for OA group only) affects activities of daily living or would confound testing or place the subject at risk by participating, such as a significant cardiovascular condition or event (e.g., heart attack \< 3 months ago, uncontrolled atrial fibrillation, uncontrolled angina, or congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, peripheral vascular disease)
• • 8. Any impaired sensation or weakness in either lower extremity or in the area targeted for the stimulus
• • 9. History of serious concussion or head injury, defined as a loss of consciousness for \> 5 minutes and/or requiring medical treatment, or \> 2 concussions over the lifespan
• • 10. Any history of acute or chronic problems with balance, any dizziness, or \> 1 fall in the last 12 months
• • 11. Taking 4 or more medications (YA group only)
• • 12. Currently or regularly using any analgesic medications, over-the-counter remedies, or any other treatment for the purposes of pain relief (i.e., baby aspirin for heart health permitted, etc.)
• • 13. Any current or chronic pain condition during the last year, located anywhere in the body with a (OA group only) pain intensity of \> 2/10
• • 14. Allergy to capsaicin or hot peppers
• • 15. Any skin lesion, breakage or irritation in the area targeted for the painful stimulus
• • 16. Skin sensitivity to soaps/creams/perfumes or to heat
• • 17. Poor circulation in the area targeted for the painful stimulus
• • 18. Prior participation in a locomotor learning study in this lab within the last 2 years or prior participation in a study in this lab that included the cognitive testing battery within the last 2 years.