The nocebo effect in motor performance consists in a reduction of force and increase of fatigue following the application of an inert treatment that the recipient believes to be effective. This effect is variable across individuals and it is usually stronger if conditioning -exposure to the active effect of the treatment- precedes a test session, in which the treatment is inert. In the current ...

BACKGROUND Nocebo effect is the occurrence of troublesome symptoms after the administration of inert substances. It can be easily studied during blind oral challenges for drug reactions, which always involve the administration ofa placebo. METHODS We collected data about nocebo effect in outpatients undergoing oral drug challenge. Patients with previous documented adverse reactions to drugs u...

OBJECTIVE Research on placebo/nocebo effects suggests that expectations can influence treatment outcomes, but placebo/nocebo effects are not always evident. This research demonstrates that a provider's social behavior moderates the effect of expectations on physiological outcomes. METHODS After inducing an allergic reaction in participants through a histamine skin prick test, a health care pr...

Herbal medicines are often perceived by the general public as a “soft” alternative to Western Medicine, but the use of these substances can be risky since they can induce nocebo effect [1]. In 1961 Walter Kennedy chosen the term nocebo (Latin for I will harm) as the counterpart of placebo [2]. This term was introduced a few years after Henry Beecher published his paper on the placebo effect [3]...

Previous studies suggest that nocebo effects, sometimes termed "negative placebo effects," can contribute appreciably to a variety of medical symptoms and adverse events in clinical trials and medical care. In this study, using a within-subject design, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and an expectation/conditioning manipulation model to investigate the neural substrates...

Background Doctor-patient communication has far reaching influences on the overall well-being of the patients. Words are powerful tools in the doctor’s armamentarium, having both healing as well as harming effects. Doctors need to be conscious about the choice of their words. This study aimed to determine the frequency and pattern of Nocebo Phenomenon (NP) un-intentionally induced by the commun...

Throughout history, patient-physician relationships have been acknowledged as an important component of the therapeutic effects of any pharmacological treatment. Here, we discuss the role of physicians' expectations in influencing the therapeutic outcomes of alcohol and drug addiction pharmacological treatments. As largely demonstrated, such expectations and attitudes may contribute to produce ...

Evidence from clinical studies emphasizes the relevance of contextual psychosocial variables, including physicianpatient interactions, for treatment outcome [1]. Positive psychosocial infl uences on treatment outcomes are termed placebo eff ects, whereas negative infl uences are termed nocebo eff ects. Experimental research reveals that the psychosocial context of therapy induces biochemical ch...

The nocebo effect is the onset of untoward reactions following the administration of an indifferent substance. The oral challenge with alternative drugs plays a central role in the management of drug allergy and the use of inert substances is part of this procedure. We evaluated the occurrence and clinical characteristics of nocebo effect in patients with adverse drug reactions. Six hundred pat...

A wealth of research shows that the expectancy to improve, either by verbal suggestion or by learning experiences, results in less pain and suffering [8]. There are also intriguing studies showing the relevance and usefulness of placebo in clinical settings [4]. Far less research is available on the reverse, the nocebo effect. Overall, results of these studies are concordant with the placebo re...