The placebo effect has often been considered a nuisance in basic and particularly clinical research. This view has gradually changed in recent years due to deeper insight into the neuro-bio-behavioral mechanisms steering both the placebo and nocebo responses, the evil twin of placebo. For the neuroscientist, placebo and nocebo responses have evolved as indispensable tools to understand brain me...

Among patients receiving interventions for pain, the role of nonspecific treatment effects on their outcomes has been the subject of much interest and controversy. Placebo and nocebo effects are widely seen in medicine and biology; however, their underlying psychological and neurobiological mechanisms are only beginning to be more fully understood. Placebo analgesia occurs when a non-analgesic ...

OBJECTIVE On the basis of emerging research evidence, this review aims to discuss the importance of the context surrounding the doctor-patient encounter for the success of treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING Discussion paper based on placebo-nocebo and pain studies conducted in the western world. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Literature-based theory about impact of communication elements on seriousness o...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Patients' expectations of treatment effects may contribute to positive (placebo) and negative (nocebo) outcomes. The effect of patient expectations may be pronounced in subjectively assessed conditions, such as male erectile dysfunction. The aim of this project is to examine the magnitude of expectancy in trials of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. We hypothesize that ran...

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 ...

BACKGROUND This study was designed to compare placebo responses in men and women. METHODS Data for 501 women and 375 men with major depressive disorder treated with placebo from seven investigational randomized double-blind trials comparing fluoxetine with placebo were analyzed. Changes in major depressive disorder symptoms with placebo administration were measured as changes in total Hamilto...