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If you’ve had pain in your jaw or frequent headaches in the past three months, consider helping yourself as well as science with a visit to the University of Maryland Baltimore.

Researchers from the school’s Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science will do a full rundown to see if you have a condition called temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), a complex chronic pain condition. Only about 6 percent of people are believed to have this painful disorder, but many of them have not been diagnosed.

“They can get a free two-hour comprehensive exam to determine if they have TMD,” said Dr. Luana Colloca, the study’s principal investigator.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study will compare 400 patients who are experiencing pain to 400 who are not.

It requires a screening session at Colloca’s downtown Baltimore lab and one four-hour session. Participants will be compensated a total of $100 for their time and receive validated parking.

The study will investigate the effect of a placebo on pain. At Colloca’s downtown lab, patients will be given a genetic test (via saliva). Researchers will look at how behavior and expectation influences pain.

Colloca, a placebo expert, studies personality traits, brain activity patterns and physiological responses to explain the mechanisms of the placebo effect — that is, how inactive or non-medical treatments can be effective as long as the patient believes they can be. The Colloca Lab also tries to determine which conditions strengthen or weaken the placebo effect.

As Colloca puts it, “we look at personality traits, other psychological variables, patterns in brain activity, and physiological responses that may help to explain 1) the mechanism of pain modulation (e.g., why do some people feel terrible pain and others experience less pain), and 2) what determines the strength or weakness of the self-healing process,” she said in an email. “We made groundbreaking discoveries such as the role of the neural hormone Vasopressin in placebo analgesia.”

To find out more or to volunteer for the study, email CollocaLab@son.umaryland.edu or call (410) 706-5975.