I’m sure we have all heard of the “placebo effect.” The placebo is usually used for the control group to measure against treatment, but the placebo itself can cause a specific response as well. When patients are told that they are taking medication, though the pill contains no medicine at all, the patients may respond positively to the intervention as if it were medication. A recent study (Guevarra et. al. 2020) suggests that the placebo effect may actually result even when the patient is told that it is a placebo, which is known as a “non-deceptive placebo.” The deception, the thought that it is a medicated pill, may not be the causing factor of its positive effect. Rather, it may be the mere act of taking a pill under a doctor’s instruction and care. And, this study provides data on objective physiological reactions to the placebo, not only self-reported responses that have been shown in earlier studies.
Researchers from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Dartmouth College formulated a study to test the effects of the non-deceptive placebo. Importantly, they wanted to look for neurological, objective factors. They conducted two experiments on emotional distress in response to viewing negative images. One study used self-reported measures, while the second used recorded brain activity on an EEG. Each study consisted of two groups. Each group was given a nasal spray; one group was told that it was a placebo and the control group was told that it was simply a mechanism for a better reading of results...yes, the experimental group was given the placebo!
Fascinatingly, both studies resulted in a significant effect of the non-deceptive placebo. The experimental groups had a less negative reaction to the images and lower brain activity. The researchers note that the placebo can possibly be used as a safe, non-pharmaceutical approach to help people with emotional distress. The placebo, therefore, is not simply a mind game or support of response bias (telling the researcher what he/she wants to hear); it’s a solution of its own.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17654-y https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200806133509.htm
Sarah Berman