As a part of UTHealth-Houston's Center for Sensory and Systems Psychiatry (CSSP), we are conducting an experiment to understand changes in the brain in the presence of pain. We hope that through this research we can develop a deep understanding of how pain is experienced in the brain to help in the development of effective treatments for chronic pain. 

Your participation will require up to three separate visits at the UTHealth Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building (1941 East Rd., Houston, TX). You will complete forms and psychological surveys and then perform simple tasks. During the first visit we will apply various pressures via a pressure cuff system to determine your pain tolerance. Once we determine a suitable pressure to apply mild pain, we will apply this pressure for six minutes to ensure that you are comfortable with the experiment protocol. In addition to a mild pressure pain, you may also receive weak electrical stimulation during the experiment. These visits can be completed on either weekdays or weekends. The first visit takes 1 hour, while the second & third visit will last about 3-4 hours. Compensation: You will be compensated $20 per hour, up to $180, for your participation in the study. Scanned participants will also receive an MRI image of their brain. Your participation will help us unravel the mystery of chronic pain, leading to effective prevention and treatment of these conditions.