In an unusual trial, Stanford Medicine researchers found that a patient’s belief that they had received ketamine, even if they didn’t, could improve their depression.
I think so much more research needs to be done on the placebo effect. It’s so strong in certain conditions, but not uniform. Like migraine and depression for instance it’s extremely strong in. When the people in this study who got placebo felt better, that’s a real physical change happening in their brain just like anything else in your brain. Understanding what exactly is happening, how the placebo effect results in improvement in different conditions could uncover new potential treatment pathways for many diseases, especially ones that respond strongly to the placebo effect.
I think so much more research needs to be done on the placebo effect. It’s so strong in certain conditions, but not uniform. Like migraine and depression for instance it’s extremely strong in. When the people in this study who got placebo felt better, that’s a real physical change happening in their brain just like anything else in your brain. Understanding what exactly is happening, how the placebo effect results in improvement in different conditions could uncover new potential treatment pathways for many diseases, especially ones that respond strongly to the placebo effect.