Ignite Creation Date:
2024-05-06 @ 5:31 PM
Last Modification Date:
2024-10-26 @ 2:30 PM
Study NCT ID:
NCT05335057
Status:
COMPLETED
Last Update Posted:
2022-04-19
First Post:
2022-04-12
Brief Title:
Effects of Social Presence and Perception in Virtual Reality on Pain SPP
Sponsor:
Cornell University
Organization:
Cornell University
Study Overview
Official Title:
Effects of Social Presence and Perception on Pain Comparing Close Others to Strangers and VR to Video Conferencing
Status:
COMPLETED
Status Verified Date:
2024-08
Last Known Status:
RECRUITING
Delayed Posting:
No
If Stopped, Why?:
Not Stopped
Has Expanded Access:
False
If Expanded Access, NCT#:
N/A
Has Expanded Access, NCT# Status:
N/A
Acronym:
SPP2
Brief Summary:
This experiment aims to examine the effects of social interaction with close others or strangers in virtual reality or through a video-conferencing call on pain threshold in healthy volunteers in an induced pain task
In a within-subjects study participants will complete a series of induced-pain heat ramps in four conditions These conditions are 1 alone in virtual reality 2 with a close friend or family member in virtual reality 3 with a stranger in virtual reality 4 with the same close friend or family member in a video call
In a within-subjects study participants will complete a series of induced-pain heat ramps in four conditions These conditions are 1 alone in virtual reality 2 with a close friend or family member in virtual reality 3 with a stranger in virtual reality 4 with the same close friend or family member in a video call
Detailed Description:
Some of the earliest clinical uses of virtual reality were as a distractor for patients experiencing pain However virtual worlds also allow for social interaction which has the potential to strongly affect both pain and the sensation of presence in an environment While social support has been linked to pain reduction in a recent study participants who texted with a stranger while undergoing surgery were less likely to require analgesia than those who texted with companions or played a distracting game on their phone While the authors propose that the context of the chat may have affected participants pain levels another additive possibility is that these patients were experiencing social presence with the strangers who were conversing from a location outside the hospital and were thus feeling less present in the hospital environment This might explain why participants received greater benefit from these text conversations than from conversations with loved ones who were conversing from the hospital environment where their pain occurred In a previous study we found that participants in an induced pain task demonstrated higher pain thresholds when they were interacting socially with a stranger compared to when they were alone Won Pandita and Kruzan 2020
In this study we follow up on these results First we aim to replicate the previous finding of social interactions overall increasing pain tolerance Second we aim to compare the potential effects of interacting with a stranger compared to a close other defined as a friend or family member Third we compare social interactions in virtual reality compared to video Fourth we examine whether cortisol is linked with pain threshold
METHODS AND RESEARCH STRATEGY Our previous study used 75 participants and since this is the closest study to our current research design we will retain this number as our target We will work with a student sample of convenience
Each participant will experience four conditions in a random order 1 alone in virtual reality 2 with a close friend or family member in virtual reality 3 with a stranger in virtual reality 4 with the same close friend or family member in a video call Each condition will take place in a different virtual environment
Participants will be stably seated and observed by a research assistant as they experience each condition During each condition participants will complete an induced pain task using a Medoc TSA-2001Model Q-Sense thermode Prior to experiencing the four experimental conditions participants will complete a practice induced pain task while viewing a different virtual environment This will allow them to orient themselves to both the virtual environment and the pain task since based on the pilot experiment order effects are predicted to be most notable for the first pain task administered In this and all subsequent induced pain tasks participants will place their non-dominant hand on the thermode and will be instructed to remove their hand as soon as they feel the temperature has become painful The beginning and end of each trial when the heat ramp begins and when participants remove their hands will be noted and that time duration and thus the degree of temperature to which it corresponds will serve as the measure of pain threshold for that trial In addition to this outcome measure after each pain trial participants will also fill out a brief self-report survey These measures will include their self-reported feelings of presence in the virtual environment and social presence with the other conversational partners All conditions will be presented in a randomized order to control for order effects The time to complete these surveys will be approximately 7-10 minutes which will also allow participants time between each trial to reorient themselves to the real environment and for any lingering effects of heat on their hands to dissipate After each survey 15 minutes after each pain task a saliva sample for cortisol will be taken
In this study we follow up on these results First we aim to replicate the previous finding of social interactions overall increasing pain tolerance Second we aim to compare the potential effects of interacting with a stranger compared to a close other defined as a friend or family member Third we compare social interactions in virtual reality compared to video Fourth we examine whether cortisol is linked with pain threshold
METHODS AND RESEARCH STRATEGY Our previous study used 75 participants and since this is the closest study to our current research design we will retain this number as our target We will work with a student sample of convenience
Each participant will experience four conditions in a random order 1 alone in virtual reality 2 with a close friend or family member in virtual reality 3 with a stranger in virtual reality 4 with the same close friend or family member in a video call Each condition will take place in a different virtual environment
Participants will be stably seated and observed by a research assistant as they experience each condition During each condition participants will complete an induced pain task using a Medoc TSA-2001Model Q-Sense thermode Prior to experiencing the four experimental conditions participants will complete a practice induced pain task while viewing a different virtual environment This will allow them to orient themselves to both the virtual environment and the pain task since based on the pilot experiment order effects are predicted to be most notable for the first pain task administered In this and all subsequent induced pain tasks participants will place their non-dominant hand on the thermode and will be instructed to remove their hand as soon as they feel the temperature has become painful The beginning and end of each trial when the heat ramp begins and when participants remove their hands will be noted and that time duration and thus the degree of temperature to which it corresponds will serve as the measure of pain threshold for that trial In addition to this outcome measure after each pain trial participants will also fill out a brief self-report survey These measures will include their self-reported feelings of presence in the virtual environment and social presence with the other conversational partners All conditions will be presented in a randomized order to control for order effects The time to complete these surveys will be approximately 7-10 minutes which will also allow participants time between each trial to reorient themselves to the real environment and for any lingering effects of heat on their hands to dissipate After each survey 15 minutes after each pain task a saliva sample for cortisol will be taken
Study Oversight
Has Oversight DMC:
None
Is a FDA Regulated Drug?:
False
Is a FDA Regulated Device?:
False
Is an Unapproved Device?:
None
Is a PPSD?:
None
Is a US Export?:
None
Is an FDA AA801 Violation?:
None