Jump to content

Can placebo have physical effects, not just psychological ones?


Alfred001

Recommended Posts

I know placebo can have sensory or psychological effects like reducing pain or anxiety or fatigue and some effects that are sort of physical like increasing heart beat rate or blood pressure, but these can be controlled by psychological factors (like being upset), is there any evidence that placebo can have effects that are entirely physical?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Prometheus said:

Is immune and hormonal response physical enough? This review has a nice little section on it. I think the line between psychological and physical is a little more blurred than our Western dualistic upbringing would suggest.

Absolutely. Or rather, I think that the idea flip-flops depending on how you approach it. Obviously the connection is well-recognized, otherwise we would not use so many psychoactive drugs for treatment. And we have long known that our psychological sensations are integrated in the brain. Yet, we do not fully understand the connections and it is often simpler to talk about the one or the other. Placebos are one of the fascinating areas where both heavily overlap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.