THERE IS NOT A SINGLE PLACEBO EFFECT BUT MANY
| Christian S Stohler Professor & Dean, Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine |
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| Helen Mayberg Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Radiology, Emory University | Fabrizio Benedetti Universita di Torino, Dipartmento di Neuroscienze |
The Journal of Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
The placebo effect is a psychobiological phenomenon that can be attributable to different mechanisms, including expectation of clinical improvement and pavlovian conditioning. Thus, we have to look for different mechanisms in different conditions, because there is not a single placebo effect but many. So far, most of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this complex phenomenon have been studied in the field of pain and analgesia, although recent investigations have successfully been performed in the immune system, motor disorders, and depression. Overall, the placebo effect appears to be a very good model to understand how a complex mental activity, such as expectancy, interacts with different neuronal systems.
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