Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger
If it is observer bias how does it work in double blind studies (the placebo effect, not homeopathics)? and yes the placebo effect is people getting better on their own. That is pretty much the definition of the placebo effect. But the mind is powerful, and homeopathy can put people's minds in the right state. Whether it is the mind that helps heal, or the fact that people think they feel better and actually get off their butt and maybe actually accidentally exercise or something along those lines and they get better.
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I read an interesting chapter in
Snake Oil Science last night, on the placebo effect. Recent research suggests the brain releases opiates that provide pain relief, when the patient is told they are being given an effective treatment (which is in fact an inert substance). There are likely other unproven physical effects.
Ex.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08..._natural_high/
When subjects were told they would receive painkillers, the parts of the brain that produce our bodies' natural painkillers, the mu-opioid receptors, kicked up a storm.
The brain activity was proportional to the expectations the subjects had about how effective the painkillers would be. The researchers say this is the first direct evidence that endorphins can help explain how the placebo effect works.
"This deals a serious blow to the idea that the placebo effect is a purely psychological, not physical, phenomenon," lead researcher Jon-Kar Zubieta told SciAm. "We were able to see that the endorphin system was activated in pain-related areas of the brain, and that activity increased when someone was told they were receiving a medicine to ease their pain."
The research was published in the Journal of Neuroscience.