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Research papers on The placebo effect

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  2. A Comprehensive Review of the Placebo Effect: Recent Advances and Current Thought

    Donald D. Price, Damien G. Finniss, Fabrizio Benedetti · 2007 · Annual Review of Psychology · 1,147 citations

    Our understanding and conceptualization of the placebo effect has shifted in emphasis from a focus on the inert content of a physical placebo agent to the overall simulation of a therapeutic intervention. Research has identified many types of placebo responses driven by different mechanisms depending on the particular context wherein the placebo is given. Some placebo responses, such as analgesia, are initiated and maintained by expectations of symptom change and changes in motivation/emotions. Placebo factors have neurobiological underpinnings and actual effects on the brain and body. They are not just response biases. Other placebo responses result from less conscious processes, such as cl

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  3. A comparison of placebo effects in clinical analgesic trials versus studies of placebo analgesia

    Lene Vase, Joseph L. Riley, Donald D. Price · 2002 · Pain · 435 citations

    A previous meta-analysis of clinical analgesic trial studies showed generally low magnitudes of placebo analgesia (N. Engl. J. Med. 344 (2001) 1594). However, as studies included in their analysis used only placebo as a control condition, we conducted two meta-analyses, one in which 23 studies used only placebo as a control condition, and one in which 14 studies investigated placebo analgesic mechanisms. Magnitudes of placebo analgesic effects were much higher in the latter (mean effect size=0.95) as compared to the former (mean effect size=0.15) and were significantly different (P=0.003). This difference as well as differences in effect sizes within studies of placebo mechanisms may be pars

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  6. Introduction to placebo effects in medicine: mechanisms and clinical implications

    Karin Meißner, Niko Kohls, Luana Colloca · 2011 · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · 84 citations

    The field of placebo research has made considerable progress in the last years and it has become a major focus of interest. We know now that the placebo effect is a real neurobiological phenomenon and that the brain's 'inner pharmacy' is a critical determinant for the occurrence of psychobiological and behavioural changes relevant to healing processes and well-being. However, harnessing the advantages of placebo effects in healthcare is still a challenge. The first part of the theme issue summarizes and discusses the various kinds of placebo mechanisms across medical fields, thereby not only focusing on two main explanatory models-expectation and conditioning theory-but also taking into acco

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  7. The Powerful Placebo Effect in Cough: Relevance to Treatment and Clinical Trials

    Ronald Eccles · 2019 · Lung · 71 citations

    Interest in the placebo effect of medicines has developed from the use of placebo treatments as controls in clinical trials into a whole new area of research around how placebos fit into a psychosocial model of therapeutics. The large placebo effect associated with cough medicines is both a problem and an opportunity for researchers: a problem for clinical trials on new actives as the active must beat the large placebo effect, and an opportunity for harnessing the placebo effect to produce effective cough medicines without any pharmacologically active ingredient. This review discusses the mechanisms associated with the placebo effect of cough medicines and distinguishes between a 'perceived

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  8. Different Placebos, Different Mechanisms, Different Outcomes: Lessons for Clinical Trials

    Fabrizio Benedetti, Sara Dogue · 2015 · PLoS ONE · 44 citations

    Clinical trials use placebos with the assumption that they are inert, thus all placebos are considered to be equal. Here we show that this assumption is wrong and that different placebo procedures are associated to different therapeutic rituals which, in turn, trigger different mechanisms and produce different therapeutic outcomes. We studied high altitude, or hypobaric hypoxia, headache, in which two different placebos were administered. The first was placebo oxygen inhaled through a mask, whereas the second was placebo aspirin swallowed with a pill. Both placebos were given after a conditioning procedure, whereby either real oxygen or real aspirin was administered for three consecutive ses

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  9. Placebo effect in clinical trials involving patients with allergic rhinitis.

    A del Cuvillo, Joaquin Sastre, Joan Bartra, et al. · 2011 · PubMed · 42 citations

    Interest in understanding the underlying mechanisms of the placebo effect has considerably grown during the last few decades. Studies made in this sense have led to a change in the conception of this peculiar phenomenon, and nowadays the placebo effect is viewed as a psychobiological event resulting from the interaction between individual patient factors and factors relating to the physician and the therapeutic environment. Investigation of the placebo effect in disease conditions such as pain or Parkinson's disease has improved our understanding of its underlying psychological and neurobiological mechanisms. Clinical studies directly designed to investigate the placebo effect have shown pla

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  10. Placebo Effect and Clinical Trials in Migraine Therapy

    James R. Couch, Jr. · 1987 · Neuroepidemiology · 38 citations

    Migraine is a cyclical condition in which the cycles may occur or remit in an unpredictable fashion. The goal of prophylactic antimigraine therapy is to induce remission of an active cycle of migraine or to inhibit occurrence of individual headaches until the cycle remits for other reasons. The placebo effect probably takes advantage of these cycles. The placebo effect is significant and quite potent. The placebo effect may be divided into (1) the initial effect and (2) the continuing effect which is seen following a stabilization period. The initial placebo effect is dramatic with 62% of 188 subjects improving by 75% after 4 weeks of placebo. The continuing effect is demonstrated by occurre

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  12. Justice for Placebo: Placebo Effect in Clinical Trials and Everyday Practice

    Nebojša Nick Knežević, Aleksandar Sič, Samantha J. Worobey, et al. · 2025 · Medicines · 25 citations

    The placebo effect has been widely documented across various medical conditions, demonstrating its ability to influence both subjective and objective outcomes. Placebo responses can significantly improve symptoms in these different conditions, such as pain, Parkinson's disease, depression, anxiety, and addiction. Psychological mechanisms, particularly the power of patient expectations, appear to play a central role, with neurobiological evidence supporting the activation of dopamine, endogenous opioids, and endocannabinoids in response to placebo interventions. Studies have demonstrated that placebo injections and more complex procedures, including sham surgeries, can produce therapeutic eff

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  17. Placebo in Clinical Trials

    Shinya Ito · 2011 · Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics · 6 citations

    Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2011); 90 5, 637–639. doi:10.1038/clpt.2011.230 On 20 May 1747, James Lind, a 31-year-old British Royal Navy surgeon on HMS Salisbury, started a clinical trial with six arms, nearly 2 months into a home water patrol against the French and Spanish navies.1,2 Of the 350 sailors on board the ship during this voyage, more than 70 developed scurvy. The experiment, with a sample size of 12 men suffering from scurvy, was meant to investigate the therapeutic effects, if any, of six food supplements on the disease: cider, sulfuric acid, vinegar, seawater, citrus fruits (oranges and lemons), and a purgative mixture. In 10 days, the two men who were assigned to the

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  18. Placebo effect: clinical perspectives and potential mechanisms

    Barry Oken · 2003 · CRC Press eBooks · 5 citations

    Complementary Therapies in Neurology: An Evidence-Based Approach Edited by Barry S.Oken ISBN 1-84214-200-3 Copyright © 2004 by The Parthenon Publishing Group, London INTRODUCTION ‘Placebo’ and ‘placebo effect’ are terms that have multiple meanings and connotations and have had a varied history over the past 50 years1-3. The terms may not beideal, because of negative associations, but the terms are in widespread use with several books on the topic2,4,5. There is an effect on subjective or biomarker outcomes in many clinical interactions, including clinical trials, owing to a substance or procedure for which we do not expect there to be a direct biological effect on the underlying primary path

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  19. Mechanisms of open and hidden placebo in stroke recovery: targeting neuroplasticity insights of the placebo effect – study protocol for a controlled, parallel, randomised clinical trial

    Jorge Ortega-Márquez, Lucas Camargo, Anna Carolyna Gianlorenço, et al. · 2026 · BMJ Open

    INTRODUCTION: Stroke stands as one of the worldwide leading causes of disability, highlighting the need to develop new therapies. Although placebo effects in motor recovery have been reported to produce clinically meaningful improvements, the neural substrates underlying these effects, particularly across different modalities such as open-label and hidden placebo, remain unclear. This study aims to characterise the neurophysiological signatures of hidden and open placebo during motor-cortex stimulation in chronic stroke survivors and its correlation to motor recovery. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This single-centre, parallel-group, controlled, randomised clinical trial will enrol 56 adults (≥6 mont

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