Chronic PainAARTNCT06502496
Behavioural Study in Chronic Pain : Creativity and Motivation, and Circuits Involved in Functional MRI
A study testing art-therapy and relaxation in people with Chronic Pain, run by Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Being creative means having the ability to produce ideas, actions or works that are original and different from what we have already done. This process involves mental flexibility, in particular the association of distant ideas or divergent thinking. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Chronic Pain
- What is being tested?
- art-therapy and relaxation
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 48 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 15 Sep 2025to Jan 2029
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Patient aged 18 and over
- Consent to participate in the study
- Available for protocol visits
- Treated for chronic pain
Who cannot join
- Progressive neurodegenerative neurological pathology impairing cognitive function
- Untreated clinical depressive syndrome
- Fibromyalgia in the foreground
- High doses of opioid treatment (greater than 100 mg/d of morphine equivalent)
- Impaired judgement or inability to receive information that prevents performance of behavioural tasks
- Absolute contraindication to MRI (e.g. pacemaker and implantable stimulator not MRI compatible, intra-orbital metallic foreign body);
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- Persons benefiting from a legal protection measure
- Pregnant or breast-feeding women
- Patient deprived of liberty
- Patient suffering from mental disorders
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
France1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild
Paris, Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild, 75019
BELAID Hayat, 0148035698, hbelaid@for.paris
About this study
Being creative means having the ability to produce ideas, actions or works that are original and different from what we have already done. This process involves mental flexibility, in particular the association of distant ideas or divergent thinking. This creative potential is complex and depends on a number of factors, both internal (personality, motivation, emotional state, stress) and external to the individual (socio-cultural context). The generation of creative ideas involves the fronto-striatal circuit, with a balance between flexibility and perseverance. The striatum is central to the reward system and mental flexibility, while the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive control, underpinning perseverance functions. Dopamine plays a key role in this balance, and changes in dopamine levels, depending on the type of receptor activated, will have a direct impact on the transition between mental flexibility and perseverance. Furthermore, in the context of chronic pain, changes in connectivity and activity can be observed in neuroimaging in these same regions of the reward circuit. This suggests that the dopaminergic system is also involved in the chronicisation of pain. The creative process would therefore be correlated with the dopaminergic reward system, involving several dimensions, both cognitive in terms of mental flexibility, coping strategies and perseverance, and motivational. In this context, art therapy treatments are beginning to be studied, particularly in patients suffering from Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, showing improvements in anxiety and depression.
Art therapy has not yet been widely proposed or studied for patients suffering from chronic pain. A more detailed behavioural study would confirm and clarify the clinical benefits for patients, by exploring the neuronal circuits involved, particularly the dopaminergic reward system.
- Conditions
- Chronic Pain
- Being tested
- art-therapy, relaxation
- Medical subject headings
- Chronic Pain
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
art-therapyBehavioural
Over the 6 sessions, different artistic techniques will be explored, depending on the artist leading the workshop: stencil, graffiti, spray paint, collage, oil pastel, calligraphy and acrylic doodling. A collective work may also be proposed.
relaxationBehavioural
relaxation sessions with the referent psychologist
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| art-therapy | Experimental | Art therapy workshops : groups of 6 to 12 patients supervised over a session of 1.5 to 2 hours, in the presence of an artist and the nursing staff (psychologist, nurse, doctor). There are 6 sessions per group, with an average of one week between sessions. Receives: Behavioral: art-therapy |
| relaxation | Active comparator | Relaxation workshops (control group): groups of 6 to 12 patients supervised over a session of 1.5 to 2 hours, in the presence of the psychologist. 5 sessions per group, with an average of one week between sessions. Receives: Behavioral: relaxation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
changes in performance to obtain a reward (reward-based learning task) between before the sessions and 1 to 2 weeks after the sessions
the reward learning ability will be assessed using a specific task. The result of the task questionnaire is a numeric score.
Measured: Day0 and 1 to 2 weeks after the last session
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Jul 2024
- Study start15 Sep 2025
- Primary completionJan 2029 (estimated)
- Study completionJan 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Chronic PainStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de RothschildThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 48 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild
- Sponsor type
- Research network
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06502496
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- HBD_2023_8
- Acronym
- AART
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 9 Jul 2024
- Last updated
- 30 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 30 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Behavioural Study in Chronic Pain : Creativity and Motivation, and Circuits Involved in Functional MRI
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06502496
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- AART / HBD_2023_8
- Conditions
- Chronic Pain
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 48 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de RothschildResearch network
- Study start
- 15 Sep 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Jan 2029 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jan 2029 (estimated)
- First posted
- 16 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Being creative means having the ability to produce ideas, actions or works that are original and different from what we have already done. This process involves mental flexibility, in particular the association of distant ideas or divergent thinking. This creative potential is complex and depends on a number of factors, both internal (personality, motivation, emotional state, stress) and external to the individual (socio-cultural context). The generation of creative ideas involves the fronto-striatal circuit, with a balance between flexibility and perseverance. The striatum is central to the reward system and mental flexibility, while the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive control, underpinning perseverance functions. Dopamine plays a key role in this balance, and changes in dopamine levels, depending on the type of receptor activated, will have a direct impact on the transition between mental flexibility and perseverance. Furthermore, in the context of chronic pain, changes in connectivity and activity can be observed in neuroimaging in these same regions of the reward circuit. This suggests that the dopaminergic system is also involved in the chronicisation of pain. The creative process would therefore be correlated with the dopaminergic reward system, involving several dimensions, both cognitive in terms of mental flexibility, coping strategies and perseverance, and motivational. In this context, art therapy treatments are beginning to be studied, particularly in patients suffering from Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, showing improvements in anxiety and depression.
Art therapy has not yet been widely proposed or studied for patients suffering from chronic pain. A more detailed behavioural study would confirm and clarify the clinical benefits for patients, by exploring the neuronal circuits involved, particularly the dopaminergic reward system.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| art-therapy | Experimental | Behavioral: art-therapyArt therapy workshops : groups of 6 to 12 patients supervised over a session of 1.5 to 2 hours, in the presence of an artist and the nursing staff (psychologist, nurse, doctor). There are 6 sessions per group, with an average of one week between sessions. |
| relaxation | Active comparator | Behavioral: relaxationRelaxation workshops (control group): groups of 6 to 12 patients supervised over a session of 1.5 to 2 hours, in the presence of the psychologist. 5 sessions per group, with an average of one week between sessions. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Patient aged 18 and over
- Consent to participate in the study
- Available for protocol visits
- Treated for chronic pain
Key exclusion criteria (10 listed)
- Progressive neurodegenerative neurological pathology impairing cognitive function
- Untreated clinical depressive syndrome
- Fibromyalgia in the foreground
- High doses of opioid treatment (greater than 100 mg/d of morphine equivalent)
- Impaired judgement or inability to receive information that prevents performance of behavioural tasks
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| art-therapyOver the 6 sessions, different artistic techniques will be explored, depending on the artist leading the workshop: stencil, graffiti, spray paint, collage, oil pastel, calligraphy and acrylic doodling. A collective work may also be proposed. | Behavioural | art-therapy |
| relaxationrelaxation sessions with the referent psychologist | Behavioural | relaxation |
Primary outcome
changes in performance to obtain a reward (reward-based learning task) between before the sessions and 1 to 2 weeks after the sessions
Time frame: Day0 and 1 to 2 weeks after the last session
the reward learning ability will be assessed using a specific task. The result of the task questionnaire is a numeric score.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 30 Oct 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing art-therapy and relaxation in people with Chronic Pain, run by Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 10 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Each site lists its own contact: choose the nearest one under Trial locations. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
changes in performance to obtain a reward (reward-based learning task) between before the sessions and 1 to 2 weeks after the sessions (time frame: Day0 and 1 to 2 weeks after the last session). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Oct 2026.