More info on Placebo: Neural circuit identified
We are hard wired to 'relieve ourselves' of pain. PREMIUM CONTENT subscriber access
I examined the part placebo plays in treatment of chronic back pain, describing an open label study as well as related imaging research:
Picking apart the puzzle pieces of the placebo effect
I described the Placebo and Nocebo Effects in my 2012 book: Be the Rainbow * Bridge Heaven and Earth: How-to Manual for Integrating Alternative and Evidence-Based Medicine
Now a rodent study in chronic neuropathic pain animals identified the brain basis for placebo pain relief induced by conditioning doses of pain medication. The placebo effect resulted from brain signals associated with the endogenous opioid system in the medial prefrontal cortex — in the presence of the placebo injections it set off the descending pain inhibitory system.
It is complementary to the human imaging study from osteoarthritis patients.
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