Patients' direct experiences as central elements of placebo analgesia

Placebo analgesic effects appear to be related to patients' perception of the therapeutic intervention. In this paper, we review quantitative findings of how the relationship with the physician and the verbal suggestions given for relief may influence patients' perception of a treatment an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 2011-06, Vol.366 (1572), p.1913-1921
Main Authors: Vase, Lene, Nørskov, Kathrine Næsted, Petersen, Gitte Laue, Price, Donald D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesia
Analgesia - methods
Analgesics
Analgesics - therapeutic use
Anxiety
Desire
Emotional distress
Emotional Feelings
Emotional states
Expectations
Humans
Pain
Pain Management
Patient–physician Relationship
Perceptual experiences
Placebo Analgesia
Placebo Effect
Placebos
Placebos - therapeutic use
Temporal Development
Verbal Suggestions
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Summary:Placebo analgesic effects appear to be related to patients' perception of the therapeutic intervention. In this paper, we review quantitative findings of how the relationship with the physician and the verbal suggestions given for relief may influence patients' perception of a treatment and how patients' expectations and emotional feelings may affect treatment outcome. We also present qualitative data from interviews with patients who have experienced pain relief following a placebo or an active treatment. A special focus is given to the temporal development of placebo analgesia at psychological and neurophysiological levels. Finally, we discuss the extent to which the quantitative and qualitative findings supplement or contrast with each other, and we touch upon possible implications of patients' direct experience as central for placebo analgesia.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2010.0402