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Journal of Mental Health (Abingdon,... Oct 2013The psychological benefits of exercise are repeatedly and consistently reported in the literature. Various forms of exercise, varying in duration and intensity, yield... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The psychological benefits of exercise are repeatedly and consistently reported in the literature. Various forms of exercise, varying in duration and intensity, yield comparably positive changes in affect, which sheds doubt on the significance of exercise characteristics in the acute mental health benefits resulting from physical activity.
AIMS
Based on research evidence, it is argued that the placebo effect may play a key role in the subjective exercise experience. This report is aimed at highlighting those aspects of the extant literature that call for the reconsideration of the placebo effect in the understanding of the acute mental benefits of physical activity.
METHOD AND RESULTS
This narrative review focuses on research evidence demonstrating that the duration and intensity of physical activity are not mediatory factors in the mental health benefits of acute exercise. Current research evidence pointing to the roles of expectancy and conditioning in the affective benefits of exercise calls for the reconsideration of the placebo effect.
CONCLUSION
The present evaluation concludes that new research effort ought to be invested in the placebo-driven affective beneficence of exercise.
Topics: Exercise; Humans; Mental Health; Placebo Effect
PubMed: 23324013
DOI: 10.3109/09638237.2012.734657 -
European Journal of Heart Failure Mar 2017
Topics: Double-Blind Method; Heart Failure; Heart Failure, Systolic; Humans; Placebo Effect; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left
PubMed: 28251771
DOI: 10.1002/ejhf.752 -
PloS One 2017The placebo effect is usually studied in clinical settings for decreasing negative symptoms such as pain, depression and anxiety. There is interest in exploring the...
BACKGROUND
The placebo effect is usually studied in clinical settings for decreasing negative symptoms such as pain, depression and anxiety. There is interest in exploring the placebo effect also outside the clinic, for enhancing positive aspects of performance or cognition. Several studies indicate that placebo can enhance cognitive abilities including memory, implicit learning and general knowledge. Here, we ask whether placebo can enhance creativity, an important aspect of human cognition.
METHODS
Subjects were randomly assigned to a control group who smelled and rated an odorant (n = 45), and a placebo group who were treated identically but were also told that the odorant increases creativity and reduces inhibitions (n = 45). Subjects completed a recently developed automated test for creativity, the creative foraging game (CFG), and a randomly chosen subset (n = 57) also completed two manual standardized creativity tests, the alternate uses test (AUT) and the Torrance test (TTCT). In all three tests, participants were asked to create as many original solutions and were scored for originality, flexibility and fluency.
RESULTS
The placebo group showed higher originality than the control group both in the CFG (p<0.04, effect size = 0.5) and in the AUT (p<0.05, effect size = 0.4), but not in the Torrance test. The placebo group also found more shapes outside of the standard categories found by a set of 100 CFG players in a previous study, a feature termed out-of-the-boxness (p<0.01, effect size = 0.6).
CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that placebo can enhance the originality aspect of creativity. This strengthens the view that placebo can be used not only to reduce negative clinical symptoms, but also to enhance positive aspects of cognition. Furthermore, we find that the impact of placebo on creativity can be tested by CFG, which can quantify multiple aspects of creative search without need for manual coding. This approach opens the way to explore the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which placebo might amplify creativity.
Topics: Cognition; Creativity; Humans; Odorants; Placebo Effect; Pliability; Thinking
PubMed: 28892513
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182466 -
Health Psychology : Official Journal of... Nov 2022Reports an error in "Harnessing the placebo effect: Exploring the influence of physician characteristics on placebo response" by Lauren C. Howe, J. Parker Goyer and Alia...
UNLABELLED
Reports an error in "Harnessing the placebo effect: Exploring the influence of physician characteristics on placebo response" by Lauren C. Howe, J. Parker Goyer and Alia J. Crum (, 2017[Nov], Vol 36[11], 1074-1082). In the original article, changes were needed to clarify the timeframe over which allergic reactions were measured after the skin prick test (SPT) and the administration of the placebo cream, which was erroneously misrepresented in some cases being "0 to 6 minutes after cream application" when it should have stated "3 to 9 minutes after cream application." Corrections have been made to reflect this in the "Analytic Strategy for Physiological Results" section and in Figures 2 and 3 and the Figure Notes that accompany them. An additional supplemental figure (Figure S7) has also been added to the supplemental material available online to further clarify the timing of measurements, both in terms of time post-SPT and time post-cream application. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-10534-001).
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 provider administered a cream with no active ingredients and set either positive expectations (cream will reduce reaction) or negative expectations (cream will increase reaction). The provider demonstrated either high or low warmth, or either high or low competence.
RESULTS
The impact of expectations on allergic response was enhanced when the provider acted both warmer and more competent and negated when the provider acted colder and less competent.
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that placebo effects should be construed not as a nuisance variable with mysterious impact but instead as a psychological phenomenon that can be understood and harnessed to improve treatment outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Histamine; Hypersensitivity; Nocebo Effect; Physicians; Placebo Effect
PubMed: 35925707
DOI: 10.1037/hea0001235 -
The American Journal of Medicine Nov 2022The placebo effect can be defined as any improvement of illnesses or reduction of subjective symptoms that result from interventions possessing no known physical... (Review)
Review
The placebo effect can be defined as any improvement of illnesses or reduction of subjective symptoms that result from interventions possessing no known physical effects. By contrast, the nocebo effect refers to undesirable symptoms or illnesses that follow interventions also lacking known physical effects. It may also play a role in chronic illnesses that lack objective confirmation. Both placebo and nocebo effects can be potent and must be understood by both practitioners and researchers for proper application in clinical medicine. Individual caregivers can apply these principles to modify results in the daily care of patients.
Topics: Humans; Nocebo Effect; Placebo Effect; Clinical Medicine; Physical Examination
PubMed: 35820462
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2022.06.007 -
Transfusion Medicine (Oxford, England) Apr 2022Our own observations suggested that placebo and nocebo effects may occur with transfusions. However these effects seem to have been poorly studied. (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Our own observations suggested that placebo and nocebo effects may occur with transfusions. However these effects seem to have been poorly studied.
OBJECTIVES
To examine published information on, and draw attention to the possibility of, placebo and nocebo effects with transfusion.
METHODS
Focused literature review.
RESULTS
There is some information on placebo effects with clotting factors and this effect appears modest at best. There is very little published information on this regarding other fresh blood components. Although unknown biologic effects cannot be ruled out, there are hints that placebo effects might operate - especially with red blood cell transfusions. There is practically no information on nocebo effects with transfusions.
CONCLUSIONS
There are ways of surmounting the practical and ethical difficulties involved, and obtaining better information on both types of effects. Individualised, contextualised, informed consenting of transfusion recipients may help to enhance placebo, and reduce nocebo, effects. This may be supportable ethically, and desirable clinically, and financially.
Topics: Humans; Informed Consent; Nocebo Effect; Placebo Effect; Surveys and Questionnaires; Transfusion Medicine
PubMed: 35193168
DOI: 10.1111/tme.12857 -
Complementary Therapies in Medicine Feb 2016Conventionally in controlled trials of drugs or modalities, the placebo and nocebo effects have been determined separately and understood to be the difference between...
Conventionally in controlled trials of drugs or modalities, the placebo and nocebo effects have been determined separately and understood to be the difference between the placebo and no-treatment groups. Recently, the effect of placebo acupuncture over no-treatment was found to be associated with the placebo and nocebo effects together. If these two effects are inseparable in acupuncture treatment, the conventional method of determining placebo and nocebo effects at the trial level will not reflect pure placebo or nocebo effects. Furthermore, if these effects are inseparable, observations about the efficacy of acupuncture will be biased when considering only the placebo effect. A simple mathematical model incorporating both the placebo and nocebo effects will be provided to see how the efficacy of acupuncture is affected.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Humans; Models, Theoretical; Nocebo Effect; Placebo Effect
PubMed: 26860804
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2015.12.007 -
Cephalalgia : An International Journal... Dec 2023Treatments in medicine impact individuals beyond their intended effects, due to phenomena such as the placebo and nocebo effects. The placebo effect arises from the... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Treatments in medicine impact individuals beyond their intended effects, due to phenomena such as the placebo and nocebo effects. The placebo effect arises from the positive expectation of a treatment being beneficial, while the nocebo effect stems from the negative expectation of a treatment causing harm. Both in real-world practice and clinical trials, treatments can lead to outcomes unrelated to their intended mechanism of action, which we categorize as placebo and nocebo responses. These responses, combined with the inherent fluctuation in a condition's natural progression, regression to the mean, and random comorbidities, make up a significant part of the therapeutic experience. Particularly in pain management, placebo and nocebo effects play a substantial role. By addressing modifiable contextual factors such as patient expectations, lifestyle choices, and the therapeutic relationship, healthcare providers can enhance the effectiveness of migraine treatments, paving the way for a more comprehensive, individualized approach to patient care. We must also consider non-modifiable factors like personal experiences, beliefs, and information from social media and the internet.
CONCLUSION
This review offers a summary of our current understanding of the placebo and nocebo effects in migraine management.
Topics: Humans; Nocebo Effect; Migraine Disorders; Placebo Effect; Pain Management
PubMed: 38041833
DOI: 10.1177/03331024231218392 -
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Oct 1997
Topics: Clinical Trials as Topic; Ethics, Medical; Humans; Placebo Effect
PubMed: 9347772
DOI: No ID Found -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) May 2008
Topics: Humans; Placebo Effect; Placebos
PubMed: 18483025
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.39577.537778.3A