Psychological and neurological factors of placebo analgesia

Otten, Vera (2020) Psychological and neurological factors of placebo analgesia. Master's Thesis / Essay, Biomedical Sciences.

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Abstract

Placebo analgesia is defined as an inert substance or a sham physical treatment that could reduce pain experiences. Psychological context, such as verbal suggestion and visual cues, plays an important role in placebo analgesia. The potentially beneficial effect of placebos is mediated by diverse processes, including psychological and neurological mechanisms. The main psychological mechanisms indicated to play a role are learning trough conditioning and expectations. These factors activate the brain to release certain neurotransmitter in several brain areas, which could be the underling mechanism of the placebo effect. Interestingly, changed activation during placebo analgesia takes place in brain areas involved in the descending modulatory pain pathway. Neurotransmitters indicated to be involved in placebo analgesia are opioids, dopamine and endocannobinoids. Another interesting factor in placebo analgesia research is the huge variation in effect size, there are high and low responders. Individual differences in personal traits, brain structure, genetics, gender and age could influence the proneness to placebo analgesia effects. Knowledge about the beneficial effects and underlying mechanisms of placebo analgesia could have important implications to improve the effectiveness of real medicine.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Supervisor name:	Olivier, J.D.A.
Degree programme:	Biomedical Sciences
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	13 Aug 2020 08:12
Last Modified:	13 Aug 2020 08:12
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/23057

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