Placebo effects in children with autism spectrum disorder
Open accessAbstract
Placebo responses are frequently observed in research studies and clinical contexts, yet there is limited knowledge about the placebo effect among children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we review the placebo effect in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Placebo responses are widely evident in ASD clinical trials and could partly operate via so-called placebo-by-proxy, whereby caregivers or clinicians indirectly shape patient outcomes. Understanding the role of placebo effects in ASD may help discern genuine treatment effects from contextual factors in clinical trials. The much less studied nocebo effect, or negative placebo, might contribute to the experience of side effects in ASD treatments but empirical data is missing. Better knowledge about placebo and nocebo mechanisms may contribute to the development of more effective research designs, such as three-armed designs that account for natural history, and improved treatments for ASD symptoms. At a clinical level, deeper knowledge about placebo and nocebo effects may optimize the delivery of care for individuals with ASD in the future. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Placebo responses are evident in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) clinical trials. Placebo responses in ASD are likely dependent on a placebo-by-proxy mechanism.
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The lack of randomization stopped us from being able to determine the degree to which reductions in depressive symptoms from this study were due to the CBT-DAY intervention as opposed to non-specific factors such as regression to the mean, expectancy effects, and spontaneous remission of depression over time.
“The lack of randomization in particular stopped us from being able to determine the degree to which reductions in depressive symptoms from this study were due to the CBT-DAY intervention as opposed to non-specific factors such as regression to the mean, expectancy effects, and spontaneous remission of depression over time (see also Curie et al., 2023).”
From Community-guided, autism-adapted group cognitive behavioral therapy for depression in autistic youth (CBT-DAY): Preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy (2024) · cites this paper as Curie et al., 2023
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Curie, A., Oberlander, T. F., & Jensen, K. B.
- Affiliations
- Hospices Civils de Lyon (FR)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Jensen, Karin B.
- Venue
- Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-03-14
- Volume
- 65
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1316-1320
- ISSN
- 0012-1622 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8749
- OpenAlex
- W4324133283
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
- Keywords
- placebo effect, autism spectrum disorder, children, nocebo effect, clinical trials, treatment side effects, natural history (disease), neurodevelopmental disorders
- MeSH terms
- Autism Spectrum Disorder, Child, Humans, Placebo Effect, Nocebo Effect
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