Reproducibility of placebo analgesia: Effect of dispositional optimism
Abstract
Placebo has been shown to be a powerful analgesic with corresponding reduction in the activation of the pain matrix in the brain. However it is not clear whether the placebo response is reproducible within individuals and what role personality traits might play in predicting it. We induced placebo analgesia by conditioning subjects to expect pain reduction following a sham-treatment in the guise of a local anaesthetic cream applied to one arm. Pain ratings were assessed before, during and after treatment. The procedure was repeated in a second session to assess the degree of reproducibility of the response. A high degree of correlation was found between the two sessions for the sham-treatment group (R(2) = 0.55; p < 0.001). Personality questionnaires were given during both experimental sessions to assess key traits such as optimism and state and trait anxiety. A regression model was used to statistically define a placebo responder in terms of personality scores. High dispositional optimism and low state anxiety were found to be significant predictors of placebo response. We suggest that repeated placebo responders are high in dispositional optimism and having a placebo response in the first session causes a drop in state anxiety at the beginning of the repeat session.
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The experience of pain results from both sensory input and psychological variables such as personality traits and anxiety level.
“The experience of pain results from both sensory input and psychological variables such as personality traits and anxiety level1–5.”
From Boundary effects of expectation in human pain perception (2019) · cites this paper as [4]
The trajectory of placebo responses is sensitive to dispositional optimism.
“The trajectory of placebo responses is sensitive to dispositional optimism4.”
From Boundary effects of expectation in human pain perception (2019) · cites this paper as [4]
The experience of pain is strongly affected by other psychological variables such as optimism, anxiety, suggestibility, and reward responsiveness.
“Our interest in individual differences was motivated by our own and others’ findings that the experience of pain is strongly affected by other psychological variables such as optimism, anxiety, suggestibility, and reward responsiveness1–5.”
From Boundary effects of expectation in human pain perception (2019) · cites this paper as [4]
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- Authors
- Morton, D. L., Watson, A., El-Deredy, W., & Jones, A. K. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Morton, Debbie L.
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 2009-11
- Volume
- 146
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 194-198
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2069124565
- Cited by
- 190
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 6.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Keywords
- placebo analgesia, dispositional optimism, state anxiety, trait anxiety, personality traits, placebo responders, sham treatment, pain perception
- MeSH terms
- Analgesia, Anxiety, Mental Disorders, Conditioning, Psychological, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Extraversion, Psychological, Humans, Lasers, Personality, Photic Stimulation, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Desirability, Placebo Effect
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