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The Power and Limits of Placebos
This article explores the mechanisms behind the placebo effect, including treatment expectation and learned conditioning, and discusses its limitations.
German
Germany
HealthLifestyleTreatmentPsychologyMedicinePain ManagementPlacebo Effect
Uniklinik Essen
Manfred Schedlowski
- Can placebos be effective even without deception? Explain.
- The open placebo effect demonstrates that placebos can still work even when patients are aware they are not receiving actual medication; however, they don't work for all conditions and their effects are limited to conditions where expectation can influence physiological responses.
- What are the limitations of placebos in treating illnesses?
- Placebos are most effective for subjective symptoms involving the brain, such as pain and some immunological processes. However, they are ineffective against issues like bacterial infections that require true pharmacological action.
- What are the two main mechanisms behind the placebo effect?
- Two main mechanisms are involved: treatment expectation, which activates pain-inhibiting brain areas, and a learning process where repeated positive experiences condition a response. Both mechanisms can reinforce the placebo effect.
- What role does belief play in the effectiveness of placebos?
- Manfred Schedlowski, a professor of medical psychology, explains that the belief in a treatment's effectiveness is a key factor. This belief triggers physiological responses such as pain inhibition within the brain, leading to symptom relief.
- How do placebos work, even when patients know they are not real medications?
- Placebos can improve a patient's condition even if they know it's a sham treatment. This is due to the power of expectation and a learned conditioning response where symptom improvement is associated with taking the placebo.