2. What is placebo effect
Refers to an improvement in symptoms as a result of medical treatment with an
inactive substance or staged medical procedure
● patient recovers without genuine medical intervention
● attributed to belief in the effectiveness of treatment
● belief mediates healing of symptoms
Complaence
A feeling of contentment or self satisfaction,often combined with a lack of
awareness of pending troubles or controversy. It is used to indicate patients
correct following of medical advice.
3. Mechanism of the effect
• The placebo effect is about the power of the mind to influence the body
• It can occur when a person uses any kind of health treatment
• It can affect all of us, whether we know about the placebo effect or not
Sometimes a person can have a response to a placebo:
• Positive
• Negative
4. Types of placebo
A placebo doesn't have to be a pill. It can be any inert or 'dummy' treatment,
such as:
● an injection
● a special diet
● Exercise
● physical therapy
● Surgery
● The placebo effect is triggered by the person's belief in the treatment
and their expectation of feeling better, rather than the specific form
the placebo takes.
5. How placebo works
● Research on the placebo effect has focused on the
relationship of mind and body. One of the most common
theories is that the placebo effect is due to a person's
expectations.
● If a person expects a pill to do something, then it's
possible that the body's own chemistry can cause effects
similar to what a medication might have caused
6. ● placebo is an inert substance that does not directly cause
anything. It is proposed that the placebo, which may be
unethical, could be avoided entirely if doctors comfort and
encourage their patients' health.
● Research suggests that for psychological reasons, some placebos
are more effective than others. For example Large pills seem to
work better than small pills, colored pills work better than white
pills, an injection is more powerful than a pill, and surgery gives a
stronger placebo effect than injections do.
Influencing factors of placebo
7. Nocebo effect
● Even when an inert substance is producing positive healing results in
people, the recipients can nullify the intended placebo effect simply by
having a negative attitude toward its effectiveness, resulting into a
harmful nocebo. Sometimes the effect goes the other way, and the
placebo seems to cause unpleasant symptoms. These may include
headaches, nervousness, nausea, or constipation.
● The unpleasant effects that happen after getting a placebo are
sometimes called the nocebo effect.
8. Example
● A placebo described as a muscle relaxant will cause muscle
relaxation, but if the identical substance is presented as the
opposite, muscle tension will result.
● A placebo presented as a stimulant will raise heart rhythm and
blood pressure, but when administered as a depressant, it will
lower both.
9. Effects of Nocebo
1) Side effects of drugs:
• It has been shown that, due to the nocebo effect, warning patients about side effects
of drugs can contribute to the causation of such effects, whether the drug is real or not.
2) Electromagnetic hypersensitivity:
• Evidence suggests that the symptoms of electromagnetic hypersensitivity are caused
by the nocebo effect.
3) Pain:
• Verbal suggestion can cause hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain) and allodynia
(perception of a tactile stimulus as painful) as a result of the nocebo effect. Nocebo
hyperalgesia is believed to involve the activation of cholecystokinin receptors.
