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The Placebo Effect: Advances from Different Methodological Approaches
Open accessAbstract
There is accumulating evidence from different methodological approaches that the placebo effect is a neurobiological phenomenon. Behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging results have largely contributed to accepting the placebo response as real. A major aspect of recent and future advances in placebo research is to demonstrate linkages between behavior, brain, and bodily responses. This article provides an overview of the processes involved in the formation of placebo responses by combining research findings from behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging methods. The integration of these different methodological approaches is a key objective, motivating our scientific pursuits toward a placebo research that can inform and guide important future scientific knowledge.
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“Studies of placebo analgesia show reliable increases in vmPFC [53] (Figure 1e) and reliable connections between vmPFC and PAG [58].”
From Ventromedial prefrontal–subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning (2012) · cites this paper as [58]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Meissner, K., Bingel, U., Colloca, L., Wager, T. D., Watson, A., & Flaten, M. A.
- Affiliations
- Institut für Medizinische Psychologie (DE)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2011-11-09
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 45
- Pages
- 16117-16124
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC3242469
- OpenAlex
- W1991833867
- Cited by
- 178
- References
- 95
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 1.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- mediaTUM – the media and publications repository of the Technical University Munich (Technical University Munich) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01GQ0808)
- Fundação Bial (186/10)
- National Institutes of Health (Z99 AT999999)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH076136)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (RC1DA028608)
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Free Will and Agency
- Keywords
- placebo effect, placebo response, neurobiology of placebo, psychophysiology, neuroimaging, behavioral responses
- MeSH terms
- Autonomic Nervous System, Brain, Clinical Trials as Topic, Humans, Nervous System Diseases, Placebos, Psychophysiology, Placebo Effect, Neuroimaging
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